Game Recap/Notes: Game #43. Pistons 111 - Sixers 123. (11-32)
Miserable game. Miserable effort. Arena sounded like a library. Just a miserable game all around even if the final score wasn’t too brutal.
Killian Hayes:
One of the few guys to have a positive outing. 26 points on 11-17 shooting while going 4-8 from deep to go along with 6 assists. He was looking for his shot and did a good job of finding it. He still can’t get to the line and he did have 5 turnovers but still a positive night. Also seemed like he was just about the only guy who had a real interest in actually trying to get anything going as much of the roster seemed to sleepwalk through the game.
The good news is that Hayes continues to show that he may well have turned a real corner and re-inserted himself into the future plans of the franchise. The bad news is that even since entering the starting lineup the issues with efficiency are still glaring and it isn’t clear where he fits with Cade back. That said, for now I’m just happy to see him playing in a comfortable and confident way. Especially given that basically nothing else has gone the way the Pistons were hoping for this season.
Jaden Ivey:
Just 10 points on 4-13 shooting, which showed his continued issues with being efficient and looking for his own shot which is just about the worst case scenario. We can live with him not being overly assertive if his efficiency is high, we can also live with poor efficiency if he’s taking on a significant offensive burden. As of now he isn’t doing either. He does continue to show more willingness and ability as a passer than expected with another 6 assists tonight but that came against 5 turnovers. All of that is only sort of bad though. We would prefer more but at the end of the day he’s still averaging nearly 15 points and 4 assists per game and even though the efficiency is pretty bad it isn’t a total disaster and the eye test shows some excellent flashes.
The worst thing is the defense which we officially have to start talking about. Young guys struggle defensively which is fine, but the degree to which Ivey seems to just take plays off is starting to stand out in a way that is simply unacceptable. He gives up on plays, doesn’t track his man, gets out of position, and generally isn’t playing defense which the type of focus and effort that is required. Especially given the fact that he isn’t carrying some undue offensive burden he really has no excuse. When the Pistons drafted Ivey his defense was a big question mark because he does have the frame and athleticism to be a really good defender but time would tell if he would put in the effort and focus needed. It’s now officially trending in a bad way. The coaching staff needs to try and switch things up to get through to him.
Bojan Bogdanovic:
Perfectly acceptable game from Bojan with 20 points on 7-17 shooting from the field (and 5-5 from the line) along with 5 assists. The defense remains poor but at this point its pretty clear that Bojan is here to get up shots and get buckets and is at an age that he isn’t going to really bring out any sort of defense if the games don’t matter which… fair. Anyways, Bojan did what was expected of him but certainly wasn’t great.
Wait why does Bojan get a pass for poor defense and Ivey doesn’t?
Bojan is old. Ivey is young.
Bojan is the type of athlete that pretty much has to be fully locked in to be any good defensively. Which FWIW he has been genuinely good on defense at times in the past.
Bojan, at age 33, leads the team in usage rate and shots per game, which his usage rate being at a career high and shot attempts just off his career mark. Ivey’s usage is only slightly behind Bojan’s but he’s 20.
Bojan is producing at a much higher level than Ivey so you can let the defense slide
Bojan is a veteran who seems unlikely to be on the team past the deadline instead of being part of the long-term plan.
Saddiq Bey:
I don’t know what to say, man. This is unquestionably a new low for Bey and any hope of the game-winning shot jarring him back into form is gone. Got the start with Duren out, played 29 minutes, went 1-4 from the field for just 2 points and was miserable defensively. Part of me wants to just go “See I told you so!” Because I never really bought onto his hype train but this is getting worse than even his harshest critics (which has mostly included me) saw from him before. This is quickly becoming the year from hell for Bey which is extra disappointing given that he started off the season strong. At this point he isn’t hitting threes and opponents are starting to sag off him, he basically never passes, his defense is sub-par, and he isn’t very effective inside the arc. I’m not sure what the answer is but it can’t continue like this or he could quickly go into next season with his NBA career on life support.
Isaiah Stewart:
Another guy who had a nice game. Helped by Joel Embiid being out allowing him to go against the defensively challenged Montrezl Harrell, but 20 points on 7-15 shooting with 13 rebounds is a night that you can applaud even if it has an asterisk next to it. Nice night for Stewart and good work to recognize he had an advantage to go after.
Hamidou Diallo:
Played 27 minutes because Casey apparently liked that he was actually playing hard. Finished with 12 points on 6-9 shooting. Made several great hustle plays, got to the basket, and generally played well. Still hard to say exactly how positive he is given his poor defense and lack of shooting but on a night like this we will take the effort.
Kevin Knox:
Played 16 minutes and went 1-3 from the field for 3 points. Didn’t really make much impact.
Nerlens Noel:
I want to say this was his first real minutes of the season? Only 13 but played well. 6 points on a perfect 3-3 from the field with 4 rebounds and a few really nice defensive plays to show that he still has some game left to contribute. This showing only strengthens my desire for the Pistons to just find some minutes for him, he’s a guy who ought to carry at least small value at this deadline or perhaps even this next offseason but he basically lost last season to injury so him being nailed to the bench kills his value.
Alec Burks:
12 points on 4-6 shooting and 4 assists. Just keeps on keeping on as the spark plug scorer off the bench. Makes me a little bit sad because there were a couple of years before the current rebuild that the Pistons would’ve killed for a guy to be having the season Burks is having in the role he’s playing and here we are with him doing it and the team sucks anyways.
General:
Awful game. Killian is a bright spot, Stew at least did well and it was good to see Noel be effective. Still a miserable game.