“He might be the best post-up guy in the league now,” Detroit’s Monty Williams says of Alperen Sengun. “It’s like [Nikola] Jokic, [Joel] Embiid, and him.”
Entering Monday’s game in Houston, the rebuilding Detroit Pistons (3-29) had yet to show the same progress as the Rockets (15-15).
One big reason is the breakout of Alperen Sengun. Known for his crafty moves and offensive creativity, the third-year center is drawing All-Star consideration while leading his team in scoring average (21.1) and rebound average (9.2) per game, and he ranks second in assists (5.1) and field-goal percentage (54%) among qualified players.
Monty Williams, head coach of the Pistons, was asked pregame about the challenge of facing the Rockets. As part of his commentary, the veteran NBA coach spoke glowingly of Sengun, and even made a direct comparison to a pair of recent MVPs at the same position.
“He might be the best post-up guy in the league now,” Williams said of Sengun. “It’s like (Nikola) Jokic, (Joel) Embiid, and him.”
Young center Jalen Duren drew the assignment of defending Sengun on Monday. Detroit entered with some momentum for a change, having snapped an historic 28-game losing streak on Saturday.
Pistons coach Monty Williams on #Rockets center Alperen Sengun:
“He might be the best post-up guy in the league now. It’s Jokic, Embiid, and him.”
Detroit Pistons coach Monty Williams gives his respect to what Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey has done on the floor.
DETROIT–The Philadelphia 76ers are led by the reigning league MVP Joel Embiid and he is going to receive almost all of the attention on league scouting reports, but there is also another player on the radar of opponents in preparation for Philadelphia: Tyrese Maxey.
The fourth-year guard out of Kentucky is averaging 26.1 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.1 rebounds. He has used his blazing speed and shooting range in order to make life miserable for the opposition in games.
Before the Sixers knocked off the Detroit Pistons on the road on Wednesday, Pistons coach Monty Williams pointed Maxey out for his improvement and what he does on the offensive end of the floor.
“His speed,” Williams said of Maxey. “His shooting, the speed, the ability to, again, put pressure on the rim. You gotta show him bodies. I’m not sure—I know everybody looks at him as a talent, but I don’t think people understand he’s in bold letters in every scouting report now. It’s Joel and Tyrese and Tobias (Harris), you know what I mean? They have guys that can get it done.”
When Maxey gets going on the offensive end with his shooting, it’s pretty much curtains for the opposition. He has range on his 3-point shot which makes his speed off the dribble that much more of a factor. It opens up a lot on the floor and Williams knows it.
“They have really good role players, and I shouldn’t call them role players, they’re really good players, but in respect to Tyrese, he’s just dynamic,” Williams finished. “He’s probably outside of the 3-level player because of his range now. He shoots that thing from far out and he’s awkward with his finishes. He jumps off that right leg, finishes with his right hand. He’s a big strong kid so he can take some physicality around the basket. What more can you say? He’s a point of attention in our scouting report for sure.”
Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges gave credit to Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams for helping him grow off the court.
Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges is one of the rising stars in the NBA thanks to his new role as the Nets’ best player. While Bridges may not be the best scorer in Brooklyn anymore, enter Cam Thomas, he is still one of the building blocks of the franchise and he has one person to thank for preparing him for future success.
Bridges, 27, recently did an interview with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report and among other topics, Rooks asked Bridges who gave him the “biggest assist” off the court. Reference to State Farm’s slogan aside, Bridges said that the person who helped him the most off the court was Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams.
Bridges and Williams overlapped with the Phoenix Suns, specifically from the 2019-20 season to the 2022-23 season before Bridges was traded to the Nets as part of the Kevin Durant deal. In fact, Williams had such a close relationship to Bridges and fellow “twin” Cam Johnson that Williams cried after both were traded away.
Here’s some of what Bridges had to say about what Williams did for his career:
“I think just him being in my life helped me grow just as a human. I appreciate him so much. Just how he is as a person is just beyond just coaching. You feel like you’re one of his kids.”
Detroit Pistons coach Monty Williams calls out the officiating of Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid.
DETROIT–Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is one of the tougher players in the league to defend due to his ability to score at all three levels and his knack for drawing fouls. He is one of the elite players in this league at being able to get to the free-throw line.
Embiid did so at a high rate in Friday’s 114-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on the road. The big fella shot 8-for-21 from the floor, but he was 16-for-19 from the free-throw line to get his 33 points on the night.
Afterward, Pistons coach Monty Williams was not happy about the officiating as he called out how they officiated him.
“Some of the stuff these guys are doing, they’re not shots,” said Williams. “I’m going to go on record. These are not shots. We talk about it in our competition, transfer of information to head coaches meeting, like they are going to call this swinging the ball and hitting people. Like that’s not a shot.”
Embiid does have a habit of swinging his arms into defenders and getting them to lean in and then draw the foul. It’s something that he has mastered throughout his career and it’s something that has allowed him to get to the line often.
For a young team like the Pistons, that can throw them off a bit.
“Our guys are frustrated by it, and I can’t blame them,” Williams added. “He’s good enough and I talked to officials about it. I don’t think those are shots. You just wave your arms and hit somebody and Joel’s tough enough to guard. We doubled him and we frustrated him in the first half.”
Williams is correct. The Pistons held Embiid to 3-for-12 shooting at halftime and he was 7-for-9 from the line. In the second half, Embiid shot 5-for-9 and 9-for-10 from the line.
At the end of the day, Embiid is a superstar and the reigning league MVP. He is going to get certain calls. The Pistons are going to have to understand that the next time they defend him.
Plus, here are your thoughts on if the Clippers should trade Terance Mann.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concernsthrough this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.
The Detroit Pistons may not win a ton of games next season but it already looks like they might be one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA.
Detroit’s first preseason game of the year was against the Phoenix Suns. Despite trailing by as many as 26 points at one point in the match, the Pistons managed to claw back and force overtime.
While it was excellent to see former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham back on the court for the first time in eleven months, Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson stole the show.
The wing, selected at No. 5 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, led the way on the court. He managed 12 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block during the performance.
Ausar Thompson full highlights from preseason debut:
12 PTS | 10 REB | 6 AST | 1 BLK 📈
The passing ability, perimeter defense, rebounding tenacity … oh and the game-tying 3 … he flashed it all 🚀 pic.twitter.com/HUTNmA2Ikf
Williams helped turn the Suns from one of the league’s bottom dwellers to a title contender, earning a trip to the 2021 NBA Finals. The Suns had a .232 win percentage the year before Williams arrived and within his second year on the job, they had a .708 win percentage. That was the highest percentage increase of any two-year period in franchise history.
Just listen to Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson, who had glowing reviews about his experience playing for Williams, explain why (via The Old Man & The Three):
“The way that he’s able to communicate, the way that he’s able to teach, really flattens out that learning curve a lot to the point where you know exactly what he wants. He communicates it to you and he’s a stickler for details which is huge for [the] habits of a young player. He’s on top of every detail and he’ll hold you accountable. […] I didn’t want to let him down. I think those are the coaches that you respond to best. […] Every thing I’ve heard is that they’re a hungry group willing to buy into what he has and if you buy in, he can turn teams around quick.”
The forward also praised Williams’ ability to draw up plays that can create easy buckets.
Johnson specifically mentioned Cunningham and Jalen Duren as two players who stood out to him on the USA Select Team.
Williams could help the development of Thompson, Cunningham and Duren as well as other emerging players for Detroit like Jaden Ivey, Killian Hayes, Marvin Bagley and James Wiseman.
Overall, this is a team loaded with talent and they could potentially surprise some fans this season.
To Mann or Not To Mann
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
From Mike Sykes: Shoutout to everybody who participated in our Clippers poll over the weekend. Y’all are the best. We asked if you thought the Clippers should be willing to include Terance Mann in a James Harden trade.
In total, we got 56 responses and 52 votes from Layup Lines readers. An overwhelming majority of you (57 percent) said absolutely not.
Some of you also explained why. There were a couple that stood out to me.
One reader posited a potential Joel Embiid trade next season if this happens.
“I definitely think this helps Philly a lot, because Terrance Mann and the first-round pick allows them to have a bright young future and possibly get even more capital with an Embiid trade next summer (Knicks?). Think of it like a Blazers haul. On L.A.’s side, it wouldn’t really pay off in the long run, but they absolutely need to win it all this year because if they trade for the Beard, then he, Kawhi, and PG are all unrestricted free agents next summer, and in today’s world, it would be extremely hard for the Clippers to re-sign all three of them.”
Another said the price of Terance Mann is too high for a potential one-year James Harden rental. Especially if he’s going to be a malcontent at all.
“Mann is too high a price for a one-year rental – and that is IF Harden decides to play 100% for said year. I think part of the calculus has to include Harden’s desire for a long-term contract that he expects (there are reports to say that he wants/expects one should go to the Clips), and the Clips tolerance for absorbing a contract that could turn sour overnight.”
Just a little more food for thought on this already tough subject.
All of these players did the Irish proud before making the jump.
Nobody on Notre Dame’s veteran-laden team from this past season will be selected in Thursday’s NBA draft. In fact, given the inexperience across the board on the upcoming season’s roster and under a new coach no less, it could be quite a while before we see another Notre Dame player drafted. On the bright side, that means no early departures except via the transfer portal. Then again, it sure would be nice to have NBA-ready talent in South Bend.
The only way to deal with a challenging present and short-term future is to look to the past. In this case, the way to go about that is to look at former players who heard their names called on draft night over the past several years. Of the 62 former Notre Dame players who have suited up in the NBA or ABA, 41 have entered professional basketball via the draft. Here are the most recent ones:
Stephen Silas, whose contract was not renewed by the #Rockets after last season, is back in the NBA as a lead assistant for the Pistons and new head coach Monty Williams.
Former Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, whose contract was not renewed by Houston after the season, is back in the NBA as a lead assistant for the Detroit Pistons and new head coach Monty Williams. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Silas was let go by the Rockets after a 2022-23 campaign in which his team finished 22-60. He was 59-177 (.250) during three seasons with Houston, though it’s worth noting Silas was hired in November 2020 with a veteran-laden roster. The losses largely came as a result of the franchise pivoting to a rebuild after the forced departure of superstar guard James Harden in January 2021.
Silas was replaced in Houston by Ime Udoka, who led the Boston Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals as head coach before losing his job in September due to improper workplace conduct.
With the Pistons (17-65), Silas is joining the only NBA team with a worse record than the Rockets. Unlike his Houston stint, Silas will at least have the benefit of previous rebuilding experience, along with full knowledge and awareness going into the situation.
Silas will also have a more simplified role as the top assistant to Williams, who recently joined the Pistons after being let go from his previous job as head coach in Phoenix. Silas and Williams shared a touching moment last December when the Suns and Rockets met in Houston shortly after the death of Paul Silas, Stephen’s father.
Moments after his team’s loss went final, Suns coach Monty Williams embraced Stephen Silas and shared what appeared to be a very deep message. Stephen, of course, was coaching his first game since the death of his father, Paul Silas.
After being unceremoniously let go as Phoenix Suns coach, it seemed like only a matter of time before [autotag]Monty Williams[/autotag] landed on his feet. He’s landed and then some. Sources have informed Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that the Notre Dame alumnus is agreeing to a six-year, $78 million contract to coach the Detroit Pistons. It’s the largest deal ever for an NBA coach.
During this year’s playoffs, Williams coached a team with two future Hall of Famers in Kevin Durant and Chris Paul as well as one of the NBA’s best young stars in Deandre Ayton. Now, he’ll head to the Motor City to lead a team with nowhere to go but up. The Pistons finished with the NBA’s worst record in 2022-23 but didn’t even receive a top-four pick in the draft lottery.
While Williams has his work cut out for him, he does have a few building blocks. Among them are 2021 top overall pick Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, son of Irish women’s coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]. Here’s hoping he gets the Pistons back to respectability before too long. The pressure certainly is on with all the money he’s about to make.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Here is a new and updated ranking for the prominent coaching candidates for the current vacancy for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Philadelphia 76ers are on the lookout for a new leading man after firing Doc Rivers following another early postseason exit. Rivers held the job for three seasons and led the Sixers to a great deal of success, but three consecutive eliminations in the conference semifinals did him in.
The Sixers face what should be a lengthy coaching search. They must decide which coach is the best option to help Joel Embiid and, possibly, James Harden take the next step in the playoffs.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, quite a few candidates are being considered for the position. However, in the roughly two weeks now since Rivers was let go, there have been plenty of reports about the Sixers’ search.
Here is a new ranking of the coaching candidates based on what is known: interviews, coaching credentials and team needs:
Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Danny Green makes the case for Monty Williams to be Philadelphia’s new coach.
The Philadelphia 76ers are in the process of looking for a new coach after moving on from Doc Rivers after three seasons. The Sixers won a lot of games under Rivers, 154 of them, but they were unable to get past the conference semifinals.
There is no shortage of options to replace Rivers. The Sixers have conducted interviews with former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse and former Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel. Both candidates have a title on their resume and substantial success.
Former Sixers guard Danny Green hopped on his podcast “Inside the Green Room” and he was asked to come up with the right guy for each current coach opening. For Philadelphia, he chose Monty Williams:
I think Monty can coach Joel (Embiid). We don’t know what’s gonna happen with James Harden. So I think he’s a good fit and a positive attitude. Teach them how to play the right way, unselfish basketball.
Williams was an assistant with the Sixers in the 2018-19 season, so he has some experience with Embiid. It will be interesting to see which route Philadelphia goes as it continues its title quest.
