With Jalen Duren and Marvin Bagley III injured, Pistons center James Wiseman received rotation minutes on Wednesday against Philadelphia, finishing with 10 points (on 5-of-7 shooting), three rebounds, one steal and one block, but fouling out in just 16 minutes. Asked after the game about the challenge of defending reigning MVP Joel Embiid (41 points in 31 minutes), Wiseman conceded it was a tall order.
“It was hard, but we tried our best,” the former No. 2 overall pick said (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). “Especially myself, because I haven’t played that much. I took on the challenge and tried to contain him. I didn’t back down from him.”
It was the 21st consecutive loss for the Pistons, who are now 2-22.
“We just have to keep working hard and figuring it out,” Wiseman said of the team’s spirit, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). “We’re a young squad, young team. We just have to figure it out.”
Wiseman could be a restricted free agent in 2024 if the Pistons give him a qualifying offer.
Here’s more from Detroit:
- The Pistons haven’t won a game since October 28. In a full story for The Athletic, Edwards examines the events that have led to the longest losing streak in franchise history, which is approaching the NBA record for futility. Cade Cunningham‘s season-ending shin injury in 2022/23 started the team down a path of losing that hasn’t reversed, according to Edwards, with excessive turnovers on the court and plenty of turnover in the rotation (mostly due to injuries) also playing factors. There’s plenty of blame to go around for all involved, says Edwards.
- A lack of spacing due to poor outside shooting has been an issue all season for Detroit. Following Monday’s loss to Indiana, which saw the Pistons score a season-high 123 points, head coach Monty Williams said he was still learning how to utilize certain players. “I think we’re starting to figure out that we can score when we space the floor properly,” Williams said (Twitter video link via Bally Sports Detroit). “I’m learning how to use certain guys on the team.” For what it’s worth, the Pacers are 28th in the league in defense; the Pistons scored 111 points tonight against Philadelphia’s ninth-ranked defense.
- It took until Monday for Williams to “allow Jaden Ivey to be Jaden Ivey,” Sankofa writes for The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link). Ivey was the No. 5 pick of last year’s draft and made the All-Rookie Second Team in 2022/23, but his playing time and role have fluctuated in his second season (first under Williams). He finished with 18 points in a season-high 34 minutes on Monday. “Obviously, it’s challenging,” Ivey said. “You’re trying to find yourself, when you play a certain role for a whole year and then are flipped into a different role. It’s like you’re trying to figure out how you can feel good and do your best in that role. It’s hard. The NBA’s hard. You’re playing different roles. I guess any guy can attest to that, playing different roles is hard when you’re trying to find yourself. Obviously it’s been hard and challenging, but my faith, it’s unwavering. My faith in my game. I always believe highly of myself and I’m going to continue to stick with it.”
Monty is out if his depth…
Probably. He just needs to understand each player’s strengths and then utilize them in that way. How is that so tough?
His problem is A) the synergy of it (the Pistons are a collection of talents, not a team), and B) He really doesn’t know how to deal with young guys. He had so much trouble with Ayton in Phoenix. Is that because Ayton is soft? Maybe. But I definitely have a different view now that Monty has been continually terrible in Detroit.
I could be totally wrong, but that’s what I can see so far.
A and B are exactly right. The leauges belief that you can put together of on the ball talents and a good team will develop is a massive failure which is greatly exarbated by patented incompetence of what is used to determine whom these talents are.
When you’re 2-22 with 21 consecutive losses, what in the world do you hang your hat on???
We’re young !!
Something I personally haven’t been able to say in quite a while!!
Ditto !!
$78.5 million over six seasons, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.Jun 1, 2023
Why ????
Wiseman avgs 10 mins a gm. Doesn’t play him. Should be in G-league playing.
Pistons are wasting their time w reclamation projects wiseman and bagley when they should be prioritizing playing duren and Stewart. Same goes for playing hayes over Ivey and Thompson. They need to either start Ivey or trade him.
Additionally concerning is that cade is touted as a heliocentric luka shai type but seems more like a second-best guy on a good team. Pistons tried to masquerade before the szn as a team ready to make a leap but are clearly very far away. at this point accept the bad szn and might as well play Ivey, Thompson, duren, and Stewart instead of wasting minutes on burcs, bogi, bagley, wiseman, hayes, etc
You misspelled tenth-best
I have been saying all year to trade Bojan, Wiseman, Hayes and Bagley for a young PF, young SG and expiring contracts. or they can make this easy and start Wiseman and play 6’9 Duren at PF, start Ivey and trade Hayes, Bagley and Bojan for a young SG/PG and expirings off the bench.
DET won only 15 games last year, and made no changes other than adding back CC and making another high lottery pick. Nobody can predict 2-22, but putrid was a given, and any difference between the two isn’t really meaningful in even the short term or anything Monty should be worried about.
It appears many here don’t know just how hard it is for NBA team to win only 15 games, particularly when 1/3 of the league is tanking. To have a chance to achieve this level, an organization has to be run at an amatuer hour level (basically, run by 2k’ers or the equivalent) for multiple years. Of course, luck is always a factor as well. However a team gets there, it’s not turning quickly, or at all without a sea change in operating philosophy.
Anyway, it’s Weaver, master 2k’er, that got DET where it is, and he’s still there. He’s handed Monty a roster filled with so many pathologies that they almost can’t all be treated individually. Monty is like a doctor brought in on hopes he can effect a miracle cure for what is likely a terminally ill patient. It should be awhile before he has anything to answer for.
On a positive note, there are some early signs of hope. I’ve found that a GREAT counter-indicator of progress is 2k’er angst. Reports suggest that at least Weaver has some angst about Monty’s decisions. Some other 2k’ers as well, apparently. It doesn’t mean progress, but at least it suggests the possibility.
Wiseman didn’t start, it was Stewart plus Wiseman played much better than midget center Stewart. Stewart is a good 1st big off the bench. Nothing more than that. Hayes should be on the bench, Ivey should be starting. Is Monty trying to raise Hayes trade value up by playing him? They just need to find a young PF and trade the rest. Addition by subtraction
We have little to none interior defense and our rebounding is poor especially offensively and our communication skills are terrible. Honestly they should sign Drummond back to come off the bench and if Dwight Howard doesn’t go to jail for his accusations..sign him too because his on the court experience will help the younger guys and even at being half the player he was he will do better than Stewart or Bagley or Wiseman