Pistons guard Marcus Sasser had another important effort off the bench on Thursday night
When the Detroit Pistons were searching for an answer in the second half while trailing the Miami Heat, third-year guard Marcus Sasser rose to the occasion once again. Called upon in reserve duty off the bench, Sasser hit a flurry of big shots en route to an 18-point performance, including a pair of clutch three-pointers late in the fourth quarter.
Sasser, who went 4-for-6 from behind the arc, helped swing the momentum back in the Pistons’ favor during the second half, though Detroit eventually fell a couple possessions short. In a peculiar turn of events, the Pistons were outrebounded by the Heat and gave up more fastbreak points to Miami than vice versa, and Detroit was unable to make up the difference on their home court, ending up with a six-point loss.
But the Pistons’ failure cannot be traced back to Sasser. In addition to his scoring output, Sasser logged four rebounds, two assists and two steals on the night in a showcase of his two-way game. Sasser was part of a Detroit second unit that included Ron Holland and Javonte Green that helped cause several Miami turnovers, and that group converted those takeaways into quick looks at the Heat rim.
After the game, Stewart was asked about what he saw from Sasser on Thursday night, but Beef Stew seemed rather unsurprised about the performance from his speedy teammate.
“Obviously, he came back from an injury and was out of the rotation for a little bit, but he kept his head in the game, he didn’t get down on himself for anything and he stayed ready for his moment,” Stewart said. “That’s what he’s been doing.”
According to Stewart, the performance from Sasser against the Heat and the Lakers is more a product of the young combo guard’s continued effort and hard work. Sasser was derailed earlier in the regular season by a hip impingement, but he’s worked diligently to return to the Detroit lineup.
In particular, Sasser is motivated to secure his backup point guard spot on the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference’s roster. While Sasser was out, the Pistons benefited from several clutch performances from two-way second-year guard Daniss Jenkins. Now, Jenkins played so well that he has likely secured his permanent place in Detroit on a guaranteed contract, but that marks one more player for Sasser to compete with for playing time.
In some situations, iron sharpens iron, and the Pistons never shy away from a challenge. So, Sasser may be responding in kind to a moment where his role on Detroit’s team may be in jeopardy, which makes his big 18-point effort all the more important.
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