Game Recap/Notes: Game #24. Pistons 131 - Mavericks 125 (OT). (6-18)
What a fun game! In the end it almost seemed like this would join the pile of nights where the Pistons stuck around and even led late into the game until the opponent pulled out of a fog to win but the Mavs couldn’t quite do it, the Pistons won in overtime. It’s something that I’ve mentioned but also worth remembering that winning games like this occasionally, even if you’re fully on board with a tank, have real value in keeping morale up in the locker room. Doubly so when some of your young guys play such vital roles.
KILLIAN MOTHER FUCKING HAYES:
I don’t know how long it’s been since I have given out the honors, but I know it’s been a while.
22 points while shooting 10-13 from the field (2-4 from deep and no free throws attempted) along with 8 assists against just 2 turnovers is an excellent night. But the fact that Killian got a huge number of those buckets late in the game, both regulation and overtime, including an absurd stepback 3 to seal the game in overtime, pushes this to be, probably(?), his best game in the NBA. Hayes is playing with confidence, and while it looked bad for a bit it seems like his worth with John Belien may be paying off. He made most of his looks for himself, crossing over into middies, and flipping floaters over smaller defenders. Other players were big tonight, and Bojan in particular was hugely important, but Hayes was the Pistons’ best player tonight, and I think that may be the first time I’ve said that after a win.
And look, this is now still just an 11-game stretch, hardly a large enough sample size to declare Killian’s career saved, and he’s had short stretches of looking like a viable NBA player before. But after a game like this, it is hard not to believe that some sort of corner has been turned here for the young man. He will almost certainly never live up to the hype some people put on him (he still basically never gets to the basket), but over the last few weeks, he has suddenly planted himself back into the Pistons’ future plans in a way that few thought he still was.
Also as an aside about Killian, as it pertains to me, I’d like to use this current moment as a proof of concept for something. Hayes is a player that I have not liked since before the Pistons drafted him. I have been highly skeptical of him for pretty much his entire tenure as a Piston. I am still thrilled to see him putting it together. When I am talking about young players and where I see their development I am giving my honest to god thoughts on what I am seeing and thinking, I am never rooting against any Pistons player. So if Saddiq Bey please remember this if Saddiq Bey actually does end up becoming Khris Middleton, if the Stewart/Bagley combo actually works long-term, or if anything else that I am skeptical about with regards to this team ends up being wrong. This is just a conversation, there is nothing I would love more than to have all the Pistons’ young guys become good players that fit in the long term. Just in case there was anyone who doubted that. Anyways.
Isaiah Livers:
I guess Livers is the nominal shooting guard in the current starting lineup. He went 2-2 from deep but only played 7 minutes after injuring his shoulder (one of his makes was actually after the injury occurred.) He was clearly in distress before being taken out and into the locker room. Nothing is clear about his injury yet but it didn’t look promising. Hopefully not be a long absence.
Bojan Bogdanovic:
Killian stole the show in the end, but Bojan was phenomenal tonight. 30 points while shooting 10-14 from the field (5-6 from deep!) and 5-6 from the line is exactly the type of hyper-efficient night the Pistons needed to stick with the high-powered Mavericks offense. Both teams were absolutely on fire and Bojan was burning brightest. I did not love the idea of just giving him the ball on the final possession of regulation, but he was excellent tonight. He didn’t exactly do much different from most other nights, he just hit more of his shots than usual.
Isaiah Stewart:
9 points on 4-12 shooting is a tough comedown from hitting 5 three-pointers last time out. Didn’t do much to shore up the defense although it isn’t clear how much of the offensive output tonight was bad defense vs. both teams being on fire from deep (81 threes were collectively taken and over 40% were hit) but still worth mentioning.
One other thing is that Stewart did have one possession where he caught the ball at the three-point line, pump-faked, drove to the hoop, and finished a layup. It wasn’t overly pretty and he’s tried (and mostly failed) that move before, but it is something worth monitoring if he could actually add that to his game.
Marvin Bagley:
Still atrocious on defense but you know that. Bagley did hold up to expectations by having a positive game inside against a somewhat small and soft Dallas front line. Bagley finished with 19 points while shooting 7-10 from the field (4-6 from the line) along with 13 rebounds. He even had 2 assists which are pretty remarkable for the comically passing-averse Bagley.
He was effective in the paint, rolling to the hoop and occasionally doing stuff for himself. He joined Bojan and Killian in being hyper-efficient on a night when the Pistons needed every shot they hit.
Jaden Ivey:
Coming off the bench tonight but still playing 35 minutes. 16 points on 6-15 shooting, not an awesome night but most of his buckets were hard-won and he also hit a couple of big ones late in the game and overtime. Tack on 6 assists (against 4 turnovers) and you have a decent game coming back from injury. He looked explosive as early on he got like 3 layups where he just straight-up dusted defenders on his way to the hoop.
Kevin Knox:
Played 12 minutes, and hit his only shot which was actually a tip-in. Didn’t stand out in any other way.
Saddiq Bey:
Even as I reclaim my “Saddiq Bey Hater” card I still hate this for him. Only played 19 minutes, 2-7 from the field for 6 points, never looked involved, and never looked comfortable. Maybe my earlier assessments of him as a player have proven true and it is as simple as that now the Pistons are flush with competent guards/wings so it became clear he isn’t actually very good, but I almost wonder if something else is going on here.
Jalen Duren:
11 points on 5-7 shooting from the field. Is a large man who dunks the ball well. Also continues to truly follow in Andre Drummond’s footsteps by going 1-4 from the line. Still a problem inside with how big and athletic he is, also continues to show good hands.
Corey Joseph:
Did appear in the game for 10 minutes.
Alec Burks:
Did his thing. Only played 20 minutes but got 11 shots up, and hit 4 of them to finish with 10 points and 1 assist. Not great but not terrible for the vet.
General:
Easy to chalk it up to Luka just being somewhat disengaged but Luka took over half of his shots from deep and despite finishing with 35 points and 10 assists it didn’t feel like he had as much of an impact on the game as the stat-line as he was bouyed by a 7-14 night from deep. Obviously still a brilliant night for him, but 14 of his 25 shots being long-balls is about as good of a defensive performance as you could hope for from this Pistons group.
I will also say that I hated the last possession of regulation. I don’t know why Bojan is the guy bringing up the ball, you can run a play for him to get the last look but he isn’t your point-guard, and I also hate that the shot ended up being a Isaiah Stewart three when the game is tied. Just not good.
What do you think? Will this be a real turning point for Killian? What do you think of Jaden’s return?