Pistons vs Wizards preview: 2 different types of young cores

Summarize this content to 100 words: The Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards made big splashes that changed their future outlook. Those pieces won’t be available tonight, but both franchises are trending up.Though there’s been progress on the Wizards’ side, there’s still a ginormous gap between them and the Pistons currently. The Wizards have one of the worst offenses and defenses in the association, while the Pistons have performed like the best team in the conference.Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris are questionable due to Cade’s wrist and Harris’ hip, but the Pistons have shown they can win with their leaders off the floor. Daniss Jenkins, who would take most of the ball-handling duties, is out too. It will be interesting to see how the Pistons divvy up the playmaking in this one.Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MichiganHow: FanDuel Sports Network DetroitThe Pistons odds to win these games, provided by FanDuel, still crack me up sometimes. Detroit has been so dominant, and these spreads reflect that. The Wizards are the Wizards, but Detroit hasn’t been an underdog in one of my previews in quite some time. This is good hoops.They’re coming off a crunch-time win over the Denver Nuggets. Denver crept back after Detroit had a sizeable lead, but the Pistons continued to power through.Washington doesn’t provide the same challenges as Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić. Rookie microwave scorer Tre Johnson is out tonight. He’s a natural bucket-getter who can do some of the same stuff Murray can do with range shooting. Alex Sarr is a promising second-year player who is probably more of a four than a five.The fact that they could buy low on Anthony Davis, paired with putting him at the five next to Sarr, is the main reason they pursued Davis, if you ask me. Those two plus Kyshawn George in the frontcourt is intriguing.Trae Young’s defensive woes are well-documented; those two bigs can cover for him as much as anyone could, and Young will make their lives easier in PnR possessions.The Pistons big swing came in the form of spacing. Duncan Robinson, who torched Denver with six made 3s, is the only shooter on the roster that coaches designate as can’t leave. Teams are fine allowing Detroit off-ball players to let it fly, whether they’ve made a couple or not.Kevin Huerter isn’t shooting the leather off the ball, but teams still respect him as a dead-eye shooter. Once you get that “there’s the shooter” reputation, it really never goes away. Jaden Ivey has shot it better than Huerter over the last few years, but he’ll probably never bend defenders the way Huerter does.I’m hopeful that playing next to an elite playmaker like Cade can unlock Huerter again. Even if he doesn’t return to 40 percent form, he’ll still provide space for Cade and Jalen Duren to operate.Huerter is listed as day-to-day tonight, but if Cade doesn’t play, it’s another opportunity for the young core to show their chops. We’ll probably see more Point Ausar and a more scoring-aggressive Ron Holland. He hasn’t put up double-digit shot attempts since January 10th. Caris LeVert is not a part of the young core but will get plenty of on-ball reps.In two games without Cade, Duren has averaged 25.5 points and 15.0 rebounds. Comical stuff. Even in 186 minutes with Duren on the floor and Cade off, Detroit has a 120 offensive rating.JD has elite impact and was named an All-Star for a reason. The sky is the limit. I don’t know if he’ll ever average those ‘03 Ben Wallace 15 boards for a full season, but 25ish points per game isn’t that crazy. His improvement this year makes me believe anything is possible with him — still only 22 years old.These squads are built backwards. Detroit’s young core includes the best player on the roster. Washington’s young core (Sarr, Johnson, George, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington?) is solid, but their best players are now Young and Davis. They’re mixing timelines, while the Pistons will grow and possibly peak together.Cade Cunningham (questionable), Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris (questionable), Jalen DurenWashington Wizards (13-36)Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Justin Champagnie, Alex SarrDid the Cleveland Cavaliers trading for James Harden move you? How would a series go between the Cavs and Pistons?



Read More