Game Recap/Notes: Game #30. Pistons 141 - Hornets 132 (OT) (8-22)

Good win. The Hornets unexpectedly got back LaMelo for this game and the Pistons still got out with a win. A bizarre game where both teams Hit some absurd shots but still a good win.

Box Score.

Killian Hayes:

Continues to be impressive enough to further prove that he really has turned a corner. 25 points on 9-19 shooting (5-11 from deep) including a clutch three in overtime that was tightly contested by Terry Rozier. In addition to the points he had 8 assists against just 2 turnovers and 7 rebounds to boot. He got off to a hot start and scored 12 in the first quarter but ran into foul trouble in the 2nd. But he did what you want your starting point-guard to do by getting back into the game late and putting his stamp on the night with some big buckets. As a random note, I think that one thing Hayes did several times in this game which has become a trend is that when he runs pick and rolls he is looking too hard to slow down and toss passes. There were a couple of possessions tonight where he clearly had a step and plenty of space in front of him coming off a screen and instead of pushing the play into the paint he slowed up to look for a pass. Obviously Killian is a good passer who wants to pass, but he can do his passing after forcing the defense to collapse into the paint on him.

It still isn’t the biggest sample size but every game that Killian puts up like this is one more step away from what was and toward a bright future for Hayes.

Jaden Ivey:

Not so good. Not like, completely terrible, 13 points on 9 shots with 4 assists isn't some sort of disaster but it is once again a more passive approach than you would prefer to see from him. It is also well worth noting that in a game where there was a lot of bad defense played, he still stood out in terms of bad defense.

Bojan Bogdanovic:

A good game for Bojan. 24 points on 8-19 shooting from the field and 5-6 at the line. That isn’t as efficient as we would prefer but he got some tough buckets at important moments. I will say that I didn’t love the final regulation possession where they basically ended up isoing for a Bojan long-two but that probably isn’t Bojan’s fault.

Regardless, Bojan put in a solid shift even if his night ends up being a bit overshadowed in terms of effectiveness.

Isaiah Stewart:

We talked in the preview about the Hornets being a bit soft inside and Stewart took it to good measure. 19 points on 8-10 shooting with just 2-3 from deep. He got several easy opportunities inside and made the most of them but also had an awesome dunk where he pumped at the three-point line and drove all the way to the cup. Toss in 11 rebounds for the night (which is slightly diminished because he did play 41 minutes) and this is one of the better games Stewart has played this season.

Jalen Duren:

Duren didn’t have the same scoring success of Stewart, just 7 points on 2-8 shooting and 3-4 from the line, but he did have an excellent night on the boards with 19 and some of his 6 offensive rebounds were big time at the back-end of the game. While no one really had a good defensive night Duren did have 3 blocks with all of them being total bangers. A game that highlighted just how young he is at times with some defensive mistakes and the fact he only went 2-8 from the field in a game where his team scored 141 points, but the physicality and determination for Duren is excellent.

I feel it is also prudent to point out that Duren is currently sporting a offensive rebounding percentage of 14.3% on the season which is 7th in the league and his total rebounding percentage is 11th in the league. We will see how that holds up as he plays bigger minutes, but his rebounding appears to be an excellent cornerstone for his NBA skillset.

Alec Burks:

What do yo uneven say about this guy. Played 26 minutes and scored 27 points on 8-12 shooting from the field and 7-8 from the line. The shot-making has been incredible from Burks, his ability to draw fouls out of nothing has been remarkable, he’s consistently been exactly what the doctor ordered for the Pistons bench.

Kevin Knox:

Also played a pivitol role in the Pistons victory, joining Burks and Stewart in a hyper-efficient night. 17 points on 4-6 shooting from the field with 6-6 at the line in 19 minutes is absurd and Knox is officially pushing into a zone where its okay to start to believe that he’s actually found some improvement as a player. Since getting fully inserted into the rotation back in late November (13 games now) Knox is playing 18.6 minutes per game and averaging 9 points and 3 rebounds while shooting 56% from the field and 47% from deep. Obvoiusly Knox isn’t going to shoot like that from deep all year, but if he can stay somewhere above league average it would make a big difference.

Perhaps the biggest change in Knox is that he is playing with better focus defensively. He’s still not any type of high-level defender, but he’s now typically in the right place and typically playing hard and when you’ve got the length that he does that can make a big difference. A huge issue with Knox at previous stops was that he just never committed himself to being a plus defender and it seems like he may have finally seen that light. Good for him and good for the Pistons if this can keep up.

Marvin Bagley:

A little bizarre as I don’t believe that he was hurt or anything. But Bagley only played 10 minutes and scored 4 points. I barely even remember his minutes to be honest, which says something about how unimpactful they were even in the short stretch.

Saddiq Bey:

Telling that in a game that went to overtime and 141 points were scored by the Pistons, Saddiq Bey only played 18 minutes and scored 5 points. Whatever groove Saddiq likes to be in, is officially thrown off. There isn’t a good explanation for what is going on with him, but he may be in danger of falling behind even Kevin Knox in terms of rotation pecking order. Like when Livers comes back soon will Bey stay in the rotation at all? I hope so but its increasingly concerning.

Corey Joseph:

In a game the pistons won he was -14 in 14 minutes.

General:

Good win, I’ve harped on it a ton but getting wins, especially over a team that you actually feel you’re better than, is good for morale. Killian Hayes continuing to find his groove and Isaiah Stewart putting an a hyper efficient night is great as well. Perhaps the best news is that putting Duren in the starting lineup has clearly been a good move, which was foreseeable as the Bagley/Stewart pairing never really made any sense at all.

What do you think? Can Kevin Knox cement a long-term rotational role? Is Killian officially a dude?