Game Recap/Notes: Game #66. Pistons 108 - Bulls 114. (18-48)
Tough way for it to finish but also a reminder that the Pistons are not actually good overnight, they’ve just been playing better for a stretch.
Cory Joseph:
Continues his standard of not being terribly productive but as far as he goes this was a positive outing. 9 points on an efficient 5 shots along with 2 assists in 26 minutes.
Cade Cunningham:
Had several awesome stretches where he got everywhere and did everything he wanted on his way to 22 points on 16 shot equivalents as well as dishing 6 assists. The problem is that it took 6 turnovers along with those assists and his overall involvement in the game evaporated as the game went on. The lack of involvement, later on, was particularly baffling given how easily he got rolling for stretches of the game. Would generally like to see him pushing his shot equivalents closer to 20.
Still a solid game at the end of the day, the key for him will remain putting each part of his game together every night. Occasionally he is nearly perfect but most nights he has some blemish, most of the time his efficiency is lacking, sometimes its the turnovers like tonight, sometimes it’s lack of involvement.
For now this is all ok, these are things that happen to rookies, just something to keep in mind.
Saddiq Bey:
Second straight poor outing for Bey with 12 points on 13 equivalents. He somehow ended up with 6 assists but I will suggest that they were largely of the “happened to give the ball to someone who scored” as opposed to creating good looks for guys.
The confusing thing is that, after he had seemingly found his footing in the offense in a complete way, the last two games he hasn’t been very involved at all. Not sure why, may just be a blip, but would be nice if they got him back on track.
Worth nothing that particularly painful tonight that he missed a wide-open three in the final minutes of the game that was really the Pistons last best chance tonight.
Jerami Grant:
Similar story to Bey. Just 12 points on 12 shot equivalents, struggled to get involved in a meaningful way.
Marvin Bagley:
Starting in the place of Beef Stew, in a turn from previous outings he struggled to get going offensively and the easy looks right at the hoop didn’t appear as he managed 10 points and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes, 3 of those points came on a shot after the game was out of reach.
Would be remiss not to say that his -19 on the night is pretty reflective of his defensive efforts. Once again, he plays hard, but his footwork, instincts (or lackthereof), and general ability to do the right thing is terrible. Bulls guards hunted him the whole night to great success.
Kelly Olynyk:
Played awesome, 12 points in 20 minutes with 4 assists doesn’t do it justice to be honest. The Pistons bench went on a big run in the first half and it wasn’t because they were playing great, Olynyk just managed to make a few plays and cause Vucevic some issues.
Isaiah Livers:
He is very diligent in his box-out duties. Helped a lot when he was on the floor even if he only scored 2 points on 2 shots in 16 minutes.
Saban Lee:
Not changed from when we saw him last. Had some nice moments but also tried to do more than he’s capable of with the ball in his hands. the 10 points on 9 equivalents flatters him as he got 3 (?) buckets gift-wrapped by Olynyk passes.
Hamidou Diallo:
A ball of energy who thrives on chaos, 10 points in 14 minutes. Left the game early with some sort of finger injury, hopefully he’s ok.
Rodney McGruder:
9 points on 5 shots, all from deep. Got left in too long but still a solid outing for the vet.
General:
Casey rode the bench guys a bit much late in the game, the SVG classic where the bench players do well but then get left in too long so that they remind us why they are coming off the bench in the first place. For a stretch in the 4th Lee, Olynyk, and McGruder had some dreadful offensive possessions that were pivotal in the Bulls coming back and then pulling away.
Mostly though, this game clearly showed how the Bulls, despite their awful record against good teams, still have a good record by cooking bad teams. They don’t have depth and some big holes but when it comes to winning time LaVine and DDR will outpace the opponent.