A season after firing Monty Williams, the Detroit Pistons’ growing pains continue as they opened their 2024-2025 season against the Indiana Pacers. While the young Pistons squad faced a challenge against a conference contender, their apparent immaturity also played against them. For instance, while holding a slim 98-96 lead in the fourth period, the Pistons threw the ball inbounds with six players on the court. Of course, the officials blew the whistle and called a technical foul amid the arguments from new Pistons coach J. B. Bickerstaff.
You can count the number of Pistons on the court in these photos shared by ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.
Bennedict Mathurin made the technical free throw, cutting the deficit to one with around eight minutes left in the game. Then, the rest, as they say, is history.
Besides the technical foul, the Pacers outscored the Pistons 33-19 in the fourth quarter as they spoiled Bickerstaff’s debut with his new team after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the playoffs just a few seasons after LeBron James signed with the Lakers.
Likewise, Myles Turner paced the team with 20 points, while Pascal Siakam and Mathurin each poured in 19 points. Behind them were Tyrese Haliburton with 15 points and T.J. McConnell with 14.
Moreover, the Pistons had led by as much as 12 points, though the Pacers hung around to turn it into a close game, with 13 lead changes and four ties, until the fourth quarter when the veteran team eventually took over.
Meanwhile, the Pistons also rolled out new players to complement rising star Cade Cunningham, who scored a game-high 28 points. New trade acquisition Tim Hardaway and veteran free agent signing Malik Beasley each contributed 14 points.
Another free agent signing Tobias Harris, who reunited with his former team, also put up 13 points in the loss.
Still, the other members of Detroit’s young core continued their progression, as Jalen Duren had a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards, while Jaden Ivey scored 17.
Detroit is anxious to avoid occupying the NBA’s basement for the third straight season, desperate to build a playoff team around Cade Cunningham via a combination of solid young talent and veterans with playoff experience.
They might not make the postseason just yet, but at least they could hope to avoid repeating last season’s blunders. In 2023-2024, the Pistons had the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history. They also won zero games in a full month, becoming the 13th such team in league history.
Still, winning is a process, and embarrassing blunders like the technical foul versus the Pacers is part of it. The question is: How many more losses can a young team endure before they tune out and give up?
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The Los Angeles Lakers brought in some toughness and defensive versatility with the addition of Marcus Smart. However, they're now going to have to play financial Jenga. As reported by Bryan Toporek of Silver Screen and Roll, they won't have a lot of money to make any more moves. "After waiving (Shake) Milton and (Jordan) Goodwin and signing Smart, the Lakers now sit $1.1 million below the first apron. Since they’re hard-capped, they cannot cross the first apron under any circumstance between now and June 30, 2026," Toporek wrote. As a result, the Lakers' best hope for help will come once the buyout market starts to take shape. "Since they’re only $1.1 million under the first apron, they currently don’t have enough room below the hard cap to sign anyone to even a veteran-minimum contract. They’d have to shed salary in a trade before they can make another free-agent signing," he added. That's not necessarily what LeBron James might want to hear. His agent, Rich Paul, claimed that he wanted to pursue another championship and that they would assess the team's roster to determine his future. This team got marginally better, but it still needs to add a defensive-minded big man, since JJ Redick didn't seem to trust Jaxson Hayes in the playoffs last season. The Western Conference is as stacked as it's ever been, and it will take more than what the Lakers have to keep up with other powerhouses. So, unless Rob Pelinka works his magic with another shocking trade, James will have to weigh all of his options.
Matthew Stafford's latest injury raises concerns about the depth of the Los Angeles Rams' quarterback room. Stafford suffered a back injury last season, and it's bothering him again at training camp. Rams head coach Sean McVay said the medical concern will force the QB to miss five practices, but it's not season-ending. "He's been throwing, feeling good. It's not necessarily anything that's new. Something that he's dealt with before," the coach told the media. "Going into year 17, we were going to take a modified approach with him, kind of similar to what we did in the offseason program. And so we'll allow him to kind of just work off to the side, on his own, getting himself feeling as good as possible." Stafford's durability has already been waning. The 37-year-old QB missed eight games because of a spine injury and concussion during the 2022 season. The following season, he missed one game because of a right thumb injury. The Rams have a capable backup QB, Jimmy Garoppolo. He has a 43-21 starting record in the regular season in 11 years with the San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots and Rams. Garoppolo, however, is injury-prone. He has battled foot, ankle, knee and shoulder issues over the course of his career. Rams QB Stetson Bennett — a fourth-rounder in the 2023 NFL Draft — has yet to throw a pass in a regular-season game. Plenty of solid free-agent QBs are still available, including one-time Pro Bowler Carson Wentz. He would be a more trustworthy option than Bennett and already knows the Rams' system. The 2016 first-rounder played for the team during the 2023 season. The Rams hope to win their third Super Bowl after consecutive playoff appearances. Injuries at the most important position could derail their aspirations. McVay doesn't seem too concerned about Stafford's health, but L.A. should still consider adding another QB as a precaution.
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to explore ways to upgrade the roster following Mitch Marner's departure in free agency. The Leafs front office has been trying to fill in the gaps along the roster, and they have been searching on the trade front. One name that has been heavily connected to the Maple Leafs in recent weeks is Calgary Flames star Nazem Kadri. Kadri could replace Marner very well in the lineup, but it seems that a deal could be complicated to complete. According to NHL insider Nick Kypreos of SportsNet, Toronto has tried to land Kadri multiple times this summer, only to be rebuffed each time. Kypreos believes that a deal involving Kadri returning to the Maple Leafs could be unlikely at this point in the summer. Last season, Kadri posted 35 goals and 32 assists for the Flames. His presence has been steady on the ice for years, and Calgary could probably get a lot on the trade market for him. The Maple Leafs will likely continue to explore ways to pry Kadri from the Flames. But Calgary likely won't trade him unless it receives an offer that it deems too good to be true. But Kadri is the leader of this team, and he was the best player for them last season. Toronto doesn't have a lot of tradable assets to work with, which could be what is holding things up between the two sides. The veteran could give Toronto a nice boost, but unless the Maple Leafs up the offer, he isn't returning to town.
On Saturday night, Kelsey Plum was part of Team Collier's 151-131 win over Team Clark in the WNBA All-Star Game, scoring 16 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists. Following the game, the Los Angeles Sparks star was asked about WNBA All-Stars wearing shirts before the game that read, "Pay Us What You Owe Us." Specifically, Plum was asked about how that idea came together. "The T-shirt — just a united front," she said. "That was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that." Plum said it with a chuckle. However, she was sitting next to New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who rolled her eyes and said, "Didn't really need to be mentioned" before laughing. It was awkward, especially because Caitlin Clark, as well as all of the members of Team Clark, wore the shirts. If Clark didn't wear the shirt, you could understand some backlash. But she did. It should also be noted that Team Collier featured the president of the WNBA Players Association, Nneka Ogwumike, as well as the first vice president, Plum, and two vice presidents, Napheesa Collier and Brenna Stewart. It makes sense if they took on greater leadership roles in a statement like this against the league. Whether Plum likes it or not, the reason the WNBA has any sort of leverage heading into these negotiations with the league is Clark. She would do well to remember that the next time she wants to take an unnecessary shot at Clark, who is responsible for the greatest surge in fan attention the WNBA has ever seen.