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Bold Take: The Detroit Pistons Walked Away With Two Top 5 Rookies In This Loaded 2022 Draft Class

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Bold Take: The Detroit Pistons Walked Away With Two Top 5 Rookies In This Loaded 2022 Draft Class


Again in 2020, Detroit Pistons GM Troy Weaver made daring claims suggesting that the trouble to carry again the glory days of the Motor Metropolis was a restoration somewhat than a aggressive rebuild. Weaver’s choices in his first three seasons have undoubtedly affirmed his assertion – he has established himself as a draft-day mastermind. Along with leveraging impromptu trades, Troy has accomplished a unbelievable job evaluating prospect potential and capitalizing on their abilities. This 12 months, Jaden Ivey was a lock at 5, however Weaver strategically dealt mere breadcrumbs to the Knicks for Jalen Duren at 13.

The aftermath? Yet one more impeccable draft by the Detroit entrance workplace – who walked away with the 2 most freakish athletes within the 2022 draft class. In comparison with different high prospects, right here is how our guys ought to stand within the rookie rankings midway by way of the season.

1. Paolo Banchero

Averaging 21.1 PPG, Banchero is the cornerstone of the Orlando Magic. He’s a matchup nightmare who can reap the benefits of mismatches throughout the ground – the definition of a positionless participant. He got here into the league as essentially the most NBA-ready prospect and is slowly making a case for all-star consideration. There isn’t any query that the 6-foot-10 ahead is the front-runner within the rookie race.

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2. Jaden Ivey

Merely put, Jaden Ivey is a freak of nature. His Ja Morant-Esque vertical means and downhill velocity, energy, and aggression, drawing comparisons to Russell Westbrook, have him in a league of his personal on the subject of uncooked athleticism. With Cunningham out for the season, Ivey was prematurely given the duty to quarterback the Pistons’ offense. Nevertheless, his response and up to date play communicate for themselves. Jaden is an elite playmaker, main all rookies in assists whereas scoring the third most factors (15.2 PPG). His area objective proportion raises issues; nonetheless, he’ll slowly study to maneuver site visitors to get higher appears to be like on the rim. The Boilermaker product’s protection has additionally been higher than anticipated. Ivey affords glorious assist protection with a excessive motor and might shoot passing lanes with ease; he sits second for many steals amongst rookies.

3. Benedict Mathurin

Mathurin’s cold and warm play presents an attention-grabbing case. Regardless of coming off the bench for parts of the season, he has been an unbelievable scorer for the Indiana Pacers. The Arizona product is explosive and is aware of tips on how to get to his spots on offense; nonetheless, the issues lie in his lackluster playmaking, turnovers, and defensive talents. Regardless of scoring 17.2 PPG, he solely averages 1.4 assists per sport. As a rule, he seeks out troublesome photographs, which results in avoidable turnovers. Thus far, his season totals ring out to a mere 64 assists and an astounding 86 turnovers. As well as, he could possibly be a greater help-side and 1-on-1 defender. There’s nonetheless half a season to play, however his enchancment could possibly be fairly sure with easy fixes in his sport.

4. Keegan Murray

The sharpshooter, chosen at 4, will get the fourth spot on this checklist. Murray is a deadeye marksman from three and is extremely constant for a rookie. His dependable taking pictures boasts unbelievable percentages, 43.3 FG% and 40.4 3P%. Regardless of this, his playmaking leaves a lot to be desired(1.0 APG), as he seems one-dimensional at occasions. He’s averaging solely 11.8 PPG however can maintain his personal on the defensive finish. Murray’s teammates carry a lot of the scoring on their very own, however he has to embrace extra of a task than the basic three-and-D man.

5. Jalen Duren

Duren is your prototype rim-protecting heart with freakish vertical talents and offensive upside. Duren has improved to 10.1 PPG previously month whereas main all rookies in rebounds, sitting second for FG% (63.4%) and fourth in complete blocks. The statistics communicate for themselves; nonetheless, Duren sits solely behind Banchero in Participant Effectivity Score(PER) at 15.68 amongst all rookie starters. Getting it accomplished on each ends of the ground, this huge man will likely be a power to be reckoned with as he develops over time. 



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Detroit, MI

Lessons Lions Can Learn From Epic Texans Win

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Lessons Lions Can Learn From Epic Texans Win


The Detroit Lions overcame a myriad of mistakes to steal an impressive road win over the Houston Texans and extend their winning streak to seven games.

In the game, the Lions trailed by as many as 16 points before shutting out the Texans in the second half and rallying to win on a last-second Jake Bates field goal.

Detroit was able to overcome five Jared Goff interceptions and a Houston defense that was schemed to take away many of the offense’s strongest points. As a result, opposing teams may have a template on how to slow down their potent offense.

“Moving forward, the Lions have to be aware of the fact that teams are gonna try to deploy, whether it’s the two-high shell that teams used to do to Kansas City when they had Tyreek Hill or other things of that nature,” said co-host Christian Booher. “Every team is gonna think they have the answer coming in, and so it should make for a lot of fun tests for Ben Johnson to try to out-scheme some of these defensive coordinators. Houston did an excellent job, and the Lions had all the right counter-punches at the end of that game.”

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MORE: Film Review: What Went Wrong With Jared Goff Against Texans

Though it was tough at times, the Lions ultimately overcame the struggles to steal the win. Part of the comeback was an intangible showing, as their grit proved once again that they can overcome even the toughest elements of winning a game.

“There’s also an intangible part of this, and it’s the grit. When it’s winning time, you make winning plays. It doesn’t matter who’s number is called, that person is ready to go. (Sunday), it was Amon-Ra St. Brown on that third down,” Booher said. “Really, that’s another element that I don’t think teams are gonna be able to take away. If you want to beat the Lions, you’ve got to blow them out. If it’s whithin seven points in the fourth quarter, or 16 points at halftime, it does not matter. The Lions are gonna be in it at the end, and with that culture, they’re gonna have everything they need to go and win a game.”

The latest ‘Lone Wolves’ podcast explores the Lions’ defensive success under Aaron Glenn, Jared Goff’s struggles and Jake Bates’ ascent into becoming one of the league’s best kickers.

Don’t miss any future episodes of the podcast. Make sure to subscribe to the Lone Wolves podcast, which is available everywhere your favorite podcasts are housed.

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Detroit Tigers Skipper Tabbed as AL Manager of the Year Finalist

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Detroit Tigers Skipper Tabbed as AL Manager of the Year Finalist


It’s been quite a long road for AJ Hinch. From being let go as part of the infamous Houston Astros scandal to leading the Detroit Tigers back to the playoffs for the first time in a decade, Hinch has led plenty of great baseball teams in his time.

The Tigers finished the regular season 86-76 and earned the third wild card berth in the AL. They finished as one of the hottest teams in baseball. After selling off nearly half of a dozen players at the trade deadline, the Tigers finished the season on a 31-13 run, eliminating a 10-game deficit.

Hinch had to navigate having one of the youngest rosters in baseball and did so quite well, considering that red-hot run.

Year over year, Hinch improved the Tigers. In 2023, 28 finished with bWAR over 0.0, 13 of whom played in at least 50 games, led by Eduardo Rodriguez’s 3.4.

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This year, 33 players did so with 15 players with at least 50 games played, led by MLB co-leader and AL Cy Young finalist, Tarik Skubal.

This is Hinch’s third time as a finalist for Manager of the Year. With the Astros, he finished second in 2015 and third in 2017. In 2018, he was just outside the finalists at fourth and he finished fifth in 2019. Then, he took over the Tigers in 2021 and received votes to end up seventh.

This year, he’s up against two AL Central rival managers, Kansas City Royals’ Matt Qautraro and Cleveland Guardians’ first-year skipper, Stephen Vogt. Oddly enough, Hinch’s Tigers were 6-7 against both the Royals and Guardians in 2024.

If Hinch were to win the award, he would be just the third Tigers manager to do so (and fourth award), joining Hall of Famers, Jim Leyland (2006) and Sparky Anderson (1984 and 1987).



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Live thread: Dolphins at Rams on ‘Monday Night Football’

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Live thread: Dolphins at Rams on ‘Monday Night Football’


The Miami Dolphins (2-6) and Los Angeles Rams (4-4) will close out Week 10 with a cross-conference battle on “Monday Night Football.” These two teams have met just 14 times in their histories, with the Dolphins holding a 12-2 lead, including winning 11 of the last 12 matchups.

The Rams are on a three-game win streak and are working their way out of injury purgatory. With wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back in the mix, Matthew Stafford is cooking once again. Additionally, the Rams also activated two of their starting interior offensive lineman—Jonah Jackson and Steve Avila—on Monday, as the offense continues to heal.

Speaking of getting healthy, the Dolphins returned Tua Tagovailoa two weeks ago and the offense has come back to life. In the four games he missed, the Dolphins scored less than 15 points in each game, but upon his return, they’ve dropped 27 points in back-to-back weeks. The downside is that their defense gave up 30 points to the Bills and 28 points to the Cardinals, losing both games.

Betting line and pick for the game

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The folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook are slightly favoring the home team in this game and have set the betting line at Rams -2.5 points. Both offenses can score, which lends itself to likely being an entertaining game to watch. The difference for me is their recent performances, where the Rams have found a way to win their last three while the Dolphins have lost their last three.

Prediction: Rams 27-24

Here’s how to watch tonight’s “Monday Night Football” game:

Dolphins at Rams

Date: Monday, November 11, 2024
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California
TV: ESPN
ESPN Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Lisa Salters (field reporter)
ESPN 2: The Manningcast will return in Week 11
Online Streaming: ESPN+, ESPN APP, NFL Sunday Ticket via YouTube, NFL+ Premium

Enjoy the game and come chat with us in the comments.

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