Game Recap/Notes: Game #15. Pistons 102 - Warriors 105. (4-11)
Tough way to lose at the end, but the reality is they didn’t really deserve to win. Struggled the whole night but that is also a credit to them for fighting back into it at the end.
Killian Hayes:
Only played 18 minutes. Didn’t do a ton and committed 5 fouls. I’m choosing to believe that his thumb is still an issue although he even looked a little bit slower the previously on defense tonight.
Cade Cunningham:
This kid is coming on just fine. 19 points on 14 shot equivalents. 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. One of those blocks was also nearly a game-saving block to keep the score at 105-102 before the Pistons failed to get the tying basket.
The difference tonight for Cade was that he actually got a few long-balls to fall, going 3-8 from deep. He is so much fun to watch with the ball in his hands, he isn’t explosive, but he’s huge and he knows how to toss around his weight and length. Also has the tight-space quicks to get by guys when he needs to. Only time will tell how far he can develop his game but that’s not something worth worrying about until at least next season. He is right on track where you want your stud draft pick to be in year one. He doesn’t always do everything on every night, but he is proving that on any given night he can do anything.
I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that he was often the primary defender of Jordan Poole early in the game and it was a total disaster.
Saddiq Bey:
He clearly hasn’t busted out of the slump. Just 7 points on 14 shots and 1-6 from deep. Simply not ideal. He does objectively look more comfortable than he did at the start of the season. As I wrote in this space, I felt like something looked off with the eye test just as much as the numbers, now I feel less that way but the numbers do need to catch up.
Jerami Grant:
19 points on 20 shot equivalents and I think those numbers are fair representation of his night. He missed too many shots for it to be a great night but he did get some big and important buckets. To be honest I’m just a little bit unsure of what to do with Grant’s section right now. He has clearly not made any sort of meaningful addition from last season and has regressed if anything. We know what he is.
Isaiah Stewart:
Only played 16 minutes before apparently taking a knock. As of right now I haven’t seen anything about how badly his injury is. He didn’t do much in his time on the floor tonight either.
Trey Lyles:
Not great. 4 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes. Just don’t like his game. I have not been a fan of most of the acquisitions of the Weaver regime but have been able to concede that some make some basic sense even if it isn’t what I would like (Kelly Olynyk is one for instance. He fills some basic needs of the team, I just don’t think he’s all that good basically). Lyles on the other hand, I don’t get why they added him at all. There are any number of young guys I would’ve rather let take a shot here and if you want a veteran there are plenty of veteran options who would’ve given you better play. Lyles isn’t totally useless, but he’s not very good.
Luka Garza:
Played 7 minutes with the Stew injury. Pretty much par for the course with Garza so far. He hit a 3, looked offensively capable as a guy who just knows how to help the offense go. But also totally unworkable on the defensive end.
Cory Joseph:
I just. I don’t know man. Killian is probably limited by injury, but why you are playing this guy 33 minutes is beyond me. I have no clue of Saben Lee is going to be a real player, he’s a guy who I’m genuinely mixed on. I’d still way rather find out with him than let this dude get torched on defense by Jordan Poole again. And I get that Joseph does some decent stuff on offense, he had 8 points and 5 assists. But he needed 7 equivalents for those 8 points and turned the ball over 3 times for the 5 assists and no one guards him beyond the arc. And once again, it’s clear he has lost a step on defense, if he gets much slower we will be approaching Steve Blake levels of “How is this guy still in the NBA” in terms of how regularly he is getting cooked.
Frank Jackson:
The man of the night to be honest. 27 points on just 18 shot equivalents and a team-best +20 on the night. He didnt’ do much other than score but he scored a bunch. Seems to be one of the first of the Pistons wings to find his real comfort zone, lurking in the left corner for easy three-pointers (5-12 from deep on the night), and attacking overly aggressive closeouts with drives. After a rough start it is great to see. In a larger perspective, If at least one of Josh Jackson, Frank Jackson, or Diallo can become real players of the future it’s a nice win for the team so Frank getting into form is excellent.
Hamidou Diallo:
10 points on 7 equivalents and 5 rebounds. Had a couple of really nice moves to the basket which was nice to see. He didn’t even attempt a three-pointer which remains an existential issue to him being in the rotation long-term but he did play solid tonight.
General:
It’s frustrating to not see Saben Lee get any run but overall the rotations are fine. I saw some people were mad that the final play wasn’t drawn up for Cade but they got a good look so I’m not going to get tied up about that even if I would’ve like to see Cade get the shot. Mostly a frustrating game because this was the Warriors “B” team and it was obvious that all the Pistons had to do was not get killed by Poole and Wiggins (If I can see that and write about it in the preview then sure the Pistons knew that as well) and they simply couldn't do it. Wiggins had 27 points on 24 equivalents and Poole had 32 points on 23 equivalents.