Detroit Pistons’ guard Marcus Sasser is starting to see more playing time coming off the bench.
In his last two games, Sasser has scored a combined 37 points in 48 minutes of work. Sasser recently dealt with a right hip injury that forced him to miss the start of the season.
Now that he’s recovered, Sasser will continue to provide productive minutes for Detroit off the bench.
Cade Cunningham was excited to see his teammate back out there on the court. “That’s a hard job,” Cunningham said. “To miss time, to not know when your name is going to be called, and you’ve got to be ready. It takes a lot of mental toughness, emotional toughness. And he’s got all of that. He’s weathered the storm, being out for so long.”
“I’ve seen how much work he’s put in. To see him back on the court, and to put it out there like that in a game we needed him, making a lot of big plays, helping us get this win, it was huge.”
Marcus Sasser Making an Impact Off the Bench for Detroit
Sasser got off to a slow start when he made his return from injury. In his first two games of the season, he only payed four minutes in each game, but during that second game against the Atlanta Hawks, he made the most of those four minutes scoring seven points.
In his next two games, he did not score any points. But when the Pistons took on the Los Angeles Lakers, Sasser’s number was called and he did not disappoint. Sasser scored 19 points off the bench and had five assists in 24 minutes of action as Detroit pulled away with a 128-106 victory.
He had the hot hand for Detroit that game going 5-for-8 from the field and 4-for-6 from deep. Sasser would follow that performance up with another productive game against the Miami Heat. Though Detroit suffered the loss, Sasser finished with 18 points off the bench knocking down four three-pointers.
After Sasser’s performance against the Lakers, his teammate Duncan Robinson was very pleased with how he played.
“Everybody in here knows what he’s capable of,” Robinson said in an article from The Athletic. “I’ve loved getting to know him as a person, as a player and as a worker. We spend a lot of time getting shots up together. He’s just super diligent, so everybody in here has a lot of confidence in him.”
Marcus Sasser Making the Most of His Time in Detroit
The Pistons selected Sasser with the 25th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He signed a four-year rookie contract worth $13,464,823. During his rookie year, Sasser made a name for himself, appearing in 71 games and making 11 starts. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 assists per game.
Now, in his third season, Sasser will look to continue to add value to the team and be a consistent player coming off the bench. If Sasser can remain healthy throughout the season, he will make a significant impact to the team.
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