Game Recap/Notes: Game #31. Pistons 122 - Warriors 119. (11-30)
What a game! Just a reminder that winning is fun and losing is not and just because you are tanking for Wembeyama doesn’t change any of that. Winning is fun, winning a close game against a good team in a loud arena is exceptionally fun. The no stakes of the season don’t allow this to reach the full experience of doing this when the team is actually playing for something, but still fun.
Killian Hayes:
Hayes was both good and bad but mostly good. The bad was finishing with just 9 points on 3-12 shooting from the field and struggling to make a difference defensively. The good is that he led the way with 13 assists and many of those assists were big boy assists. In particular he clearly came into the night looking for Duren because the Warriors literally have no one dressed who has any hope of leaping with him. I didn’t count each one but it’s at least like… 4? easy dunks for Duren set up by great Killian passes. The entire game he was in control and the Pistons were at their best when he was setting up and running the offense which has been a trend. The numbers are not always pretty but the Pistons are consistently better with Hayes on the floor since he moved into the starting lineup, and while those numbers are not meaningless (his TS% since moving into the starting spot is still just 49% which isn’t going to cut it in the long run) but the eye test is definitely trumping it right now.
Jaden Ivey:
Not a great night but okay. 12 points on 5-14 shooting from the field but did have 6 boards and 5 assists and a couple of his buckets where big ones. I still want to see him force his way into a larger offensive role but when Bojan is rolling like tonight and Hayes has the game on a string I kind of get it. Main complaint is that he didn’t close the game which is a bad thing even if Saddiq Bey hit the game winner.
Bojan Bogdanovic:
Huge night for Bojan. 29 points on 10-15 shooting and 5-6 from deep. That isn’t out of the ordinary at this point for Bojan but what was out of the ordinary is that he seemed to be looking to pass more than usual and finished with 5 assists to go along with a big scoring night. There was one pass in particular that he slipped through to Isaiah Stewart that was genuinely dumbfoundingly good by anyone's standards, the fact that the normally pass-averse Bogdanovic threw it is absurd. You all know that I am going to be hesitant to give Dwane Casey credit for things but it is a sign of good preparation that everyone seemed to be taking extra care to look for the big guys inside against this Warriors team. Also a nice little showcase on a fairly big stage for various teams who may be interesting in trading for him, perhaps even the Warriors are among them.
Isaiah Stewart:
Decent. 13 points on 6-14 shooting from the field, went just 1-7 from deep and is officially in a rut from beyond the arc, just 26% from deep over this ten-game stretch. But he did finish some looks inside which the Pistons needed one of which was a huge dunk after his defender completely bit on a pump fake.
Jalen Duren:
From the preview:
Jalen Duren vs. Soft interior: Kevon Looney is good and knows his role, he should struggle to compete physically with Duren and the Warriors don’t have any other bigs that fit the bill. The Pistons will be totally outmatched on the perimeter so they need to get some plus play on the interior.
Not to toot my own horn but given how rarely I get stuff right I wanted to highlight this one. It was the one clear advantage the Pistons had coming into the game and they clearly knew it. Duren finished with 18 points on a perfect 8-8 from the field (2-3 from the line) and they were all made to look easy courtesy of the small Warriors interior. Duren tacked on 11 rebounds in 32 minutes for an excellent night and exactly the kind of night that showcases how he can be a problem going forward as a guy who can punish small ball without getting run off the floor on the other end.
Saddiq Bey:
Hit the game-winner so that is an excellent boost. 17 points on 6-17 from the field and 4-10 from deep is a tidy night in 29 minutes. Generally felt a bit more in tune this game than he often has been but I wouldn’t exactly say he was great before hitting a pair of threes (one of which was the game winner) in the last couple of minutes. Hopefully getting heavier minutes and hitting a couple of big shots is the jolt that he needed to get himself back into form going forward.
Alec Burks:
Played 31 minutes, 15 points on 4-8 shooting and 5-6 from the line. Dude just gets buckets I don’t know what else to say here.
Hamidou Diallo:
Apparently, he has wrested away rotation minutes from Kevin Knox and played 18 minutes. Just 6 points but he played with his standard level of energy and out-of-control mania that we expect from him which is good. I think Knox might be more useful because he can shoot, but Diallo is more fun to have in the rotation.
Rodney McGruder:
Got 5 minutes and hit a three. Good for big shot Rod.
General:
Good job by the team for taking advantage of the soft interior and way to fight the whole way. I will say that I find it truly bizarre that even with Bagley out the Pistons are not playing Nerlens Noel. Even if it is basically a cameo of 10 minutes per game, hard to see the downside. The last time Noel was healthy he was the starting center for a pretty good Knicks team, and if teams can see that he can play a bit over the next few weeks its still possible to generate at least a tiny amount of value for him as an asset. His specialty is also defense which is something this team is still in desperate need of, maybe he’s become a genuine problem in the locker room in which case its fine, but short of that it is pretty baffling.