Game Recap/Notes. Game #28. Pistons 103 - Grizzlies 114. (7-21)
Tough game. Even though the score line never got completely out of hand the game never felt in doubt. The Pistons were behind from start to finish. The Grizzlies’ defenses was stifling for long stretches and the Pistons were not sharp at all.
Killian Hayes:
I had hope for a big game from Killian but he never got the chance. Early foul trouble took him out of the game and he never got into any rhythm. He finished with 5 points and 5 assists in just 19 minutes of play, and when he was on the floor his defense was ineffective even when he wasn’t getting called for fouls. Tough outing for Killian.
Jaden Ivey:
Bad night for Killian’s backcourt mate as well. Ivey didn’t have foul trouble and played 27 minutes but put forth another stinker. 10 points on 4-14 shooting with 5 assists and 5 turnovers. The Grizzlies collapsed onto the paint all night and never gave anyone room to get to the hoop and that was most stark with Ivey who repeatedly ran into impossible looks. The only good news is that tonight he managed to not take half of his shots from beyond the arc which is a positive sign.
Bojan Bogdanovic:
The stat-line looks better than his game actually was as far as I’m concerned. 19 points on 5-15 shooting in just 22 minutes looks like a decent night, but he just never felt impactful and he made several awful defensive plays. At a certain point production is production and the Pistons could not buy buckets but he still wasn’t great.
Isaiah Stewart:
Got some garbage time production to save his final stat line with 13 points on 5-9 shooting with 7 rebounds but the game was over by the time most of those came. I highlighted in my preview that his hitting a couple of early threes would be key to the Pistons finding offense but I believe he didn’t hit any until well into the 4th quarter which was too little too late. While I won’t place too much of the blame on him, the Grizzlies repeatedly found open players for dunks around the hoop which isn’t good for any of the Pistons bigs.
Jalen Duren:
Inserted into the starting lineup for the first time and was one of the few bright spots. 10 points on 5-7 shooting with 12 assists, several impressive dunks. He got worked defensively a few times but also had some good possessions. A 10 point, 12 rebound game standing out as a positive shows just how awful this game was for the Pistons but still.
Marvin Bagley:
Coming off the bench and was really effective. 13 points on 6-12 shooting with 9 rebounds and 4 monster blocks. He was on fire in the first half offensively and struggled a bit in the second half, but the thing that really stood out is that this may have been among his best defensive performances in a Pistons uniform, which doesn’t say much but still. Bagley was regularly making impactful defensive plays which was great to see, I also think that this role is going to be a better one for him offensively where he can just go at opposing backups and get buckets.
Kevin Knox:
Was on fire in the first half and finished with 13 points on 4-5 shooting (3-3 from deep). I believe he had 11 points in the first half so the second half was quiet but that’s how it can go for a role player. Knox has quietly carved a real role for himself into the rotation and if he keeps this up he could revive his career.
Saddiq Bey:
Another guy who put in a poor performance. Like Stewart he helped out his final line a bit in garbage time but even so, 10 points on 2-10 shooting and 5-6 from the line is not great. He only had like 4 shot attempts before garbage time and generally was not effective despite getting 29 minutes.
Corey Joseph:
not today satan
Alec Burks:
Poor game. 6 points on 2-5 shooting. Bagley coming off the bench probably sapped some shot attempts from him.
Rodney McGruder:
Played a bit tonight likely due to Killian’s foul trouble, made no real impact.
General:
Even though he only finished with 20 points and 5 rebounds, Jaren Jackson Jr dominated this game with his defense. Neither of the Pistons starting bigs showed real danger until the game was effectively over which allowed Jackson to be a roaming shot-blocker and he completely ruined the Pistons offense. I’m not going to get too upset because the Grizzlies are good, but this was still a poor performance for Detroit.
What do you think? Did you see any bright spots? Should Duren start going forward?