Credit the sophomore guard for always being ready for his number to be called
Sometimes, you have to wait for your opportunity.
Marcus Sasser began the season out of the Detroit Pistons rotation. He watched as veterans Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. entered the fray while incumbents Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey returned healthy and ready to go.
The former first round pick went from intriguing rotation piece to a spot at the end of the bench.
Then, Ivey broke his leg in January.
Sasser returned, firmly entrenched in the rotation as the other guard off the bench with Beasley. He struggled, however, averaging 6.1 points on 39% shooting (29% from 3) in January. Sasser is a tweener — not a true point guard, but too small to be a full time shooting guard — and with no shortage of scoring guards around him, he wasn’t cutting it as the facilitating guard who could take some of the load off Cunningham.
That’s likely why Detroit front office czar Trajan Langdon went out and acquired Dennis Schroder, an experienced veteran point guard, at the NBA Trade Deadline .
But with Cade sitting out the last two games, Sasser has stepped back into the rotation and played a huge part in a pair of wins. Detroit definitely doesn’t stave off the New Orleans Pelicans in that ugly game on Sunday if not for Sasser’s 20 points. The blowout of the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday isn’t as relaxing if not for his career-high 27 points.
I’ve always thought Sasser’s best role was as a jolt of energy and offense off the bench for a good team — like a Diet Payton Pritchard. They’re different types of guards, but the way PP comes in and immediately gives the Boston Celtics a boost is how I saw Sasser.
It was this explosion against the Milwaukee Bucks as a rookie that always stuck with me:
Transparently, I started having doubts it would ever happen in Detroit.
Most of that was the never-ending dread I had for the Pistons in general. It felt like they would never be a team who could really utilize Sasser in the way he needed to be used. Too often, we see young players flame out with their original teams in oversized roles only to really find their groove with a contender in a more appropriate role.
I thought we were destined to see Marcus (and Isaiah Stewart, to be honest) becoming known commodities as role players for the league’s upper-echelon teams… because it sure didn’t feel like that was gonna happen here.
Now, somehow, some way, it is happening here. Detroit is good. Sasser is in the perfect role, even if he isn’t relied upon each night. His ability to be prepared after hardly playing for two weeks is a maturity you wouldn’t expect from a second-year guy.
It’s a reflection of the college program he came from at the University of Houston, and, please don’t yell at me, shows you why former Pistons GM Troy Weaver reached for him by trading back into the first round to pick Sasser in the 2024 NBA Draft .
Sasser is a pro’s pro at 24 years old. Odds are he won’t ever be good enough to dictate the direction or future of the Pistons, and that’s fine. As long as he’s able to fill his role and give them games like this when called upon, he’ll be another piece that helps them win games.