Game Recap/Notes: Game #14. Pistons 97 - Pacers 89. (4-10)
Nice to bounce back from that disaster against the Kings. I know this is a bit late so it’ll be quick so we can still get the Warriors preview done in time.
Killian Hayes:
Not terribly involved offensively. Just 4 points on 2-2 shooting. He only played 19 minutes, likely due to his thumb injury being re-aggrivated. He continues to prove highly effective defensive play though.
Cade Cunningham:
16 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists with plenty of clutch buckets late for the #1 overall pick. Cade has been putting on the full display of what he can do. He may not blow you away with athleticism but he has all the moves and knows exactly how big he is. The numbers may be a bit up and down, he was just 6-18 from the field tonight, but the eye test is getting passed with flying colors. Hard to not be thrilled with what he’s shown.
Saddiq Bey:
15 points on 16 shot equivalents but went 3-4 from deep to keep chipping away at his miserable three point percentage. He continues to struggle to find overall efficiency, but he is now looking more like the guy the Pistons envisioned. He’s firing from deep without shame and playing with confidence.
Jerami Grant:
19 points on 20 equivalents. Shot a whooping 12 free throws on the night. Even though at the end his efficiency wasn’t great, he did look solid tonight. It is clear that he is at his best when he isn’t the initiator of the offense and able to make quick-hitting plays. General should avoid dribbling more than a few times.
Isaiah Stewart:
Not a big night statistically. 7 points and 11 rebounds. But his defense was rock solid in this one. I’m not totally sure how much was just him or that Sabonis was just off in this one, Sabonis missed a few absolute bunnies, but it’d be unfair to not suggest that Stew had at least some impact on the struggles. He went against some tough bigs and held up his end of the bargain.
Trey Lyles:
meh.
Cory Joseph:
Dude straight balled in this one. 18 points on 11 shots, was effective down the stretch with Killian on the sideline. He got to his spots and hit his shots. Bets game of the season for Joseph.
Frank Jackson:
Continues to find his shooting, went 3-5 from deep. He seems to be doing a better job of finding himself in the corners where he is most effective.
Hamidou Diallo:
Back in the rotation for at least one game. Diallo did fine, made a few decent plays but was not overly involved in his 14 minutes.
Fairly obvious that he and Casey had a conversation regarding whatever happened the other night. Diallo getting put fully in the rotation for a game, and Diallo was super up-beat and being very obvious about how supportive he was of his teammates.
Unfortunately one game where everyone is on best behavior doesn’t fix whatever is going on. Will Diallo stay so upbeat in a few weeks? Will Casey give him more playing time? The biggest question here is that, even if Diallo has made good with everyone, I think that Josh Jackson is more deserving of minutes than Diallo. Finding minutes for Diallo here and there is worthwhile to keep him engaged, but I’m not sure if 14 minutes every few games is what he is really looking for.
General:
Nice to bounce-back. I’m not sure how much of this game was the Pistons and how much was the Pacers. The sloppiness of the Pacers turnovers was astounding. That said, the Pistons competed all night and did nothing to let the Pacers out of their funk.