Summer League Preview: Pistons vs. Magic
By Joe Dexter
The Pistons got the short end of the straw on Thursday night, when it was announced they will play in the fifth place game on Friday morning against the host Orlando Magic. Detroit and Orlando will be the first teams to take the floor Friday morning, with the Pistons having the least amount of points of the three win teams. Orlando had the most points of the two loss teams.
The Magic came into their own Summer League with a lot of excitement. It’s the first time Orlando Magic fans got to see first round picks Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton.
The Orlando Summer League will play it’s championship game at noon, as Philadelphia battles Memphis. The championship and consolation games are played earlier in the day so they don’t have to compete with Las Vegas Summer League play, which starts at 4 PM ET on Friday.
Here’s what you need to know about tomorrow’s final Summer League game for the Pistons.
The Essentials
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic
Date: Friday, July 11th
Game Time: 8 AM ET
Venue: Amway Center Practice Court
TV Info: NBA TV
Live Stream: NBA Summer League Live (15$)
Opposing Viewpoint: Presto in the Paint
Orlando Summer League Final Standings
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Championship Day Schedule:
5 Detroit vs. 6 Orlando — 8 AM ET
3 Boston vs. 4 Indiana — 10 AM ET
1 Memphis vs. 2. Philadelphia — 12 PM ET
7 Miami vs. 8 Oklahoma City — 2 PM ET
9 Brooklyn vs. 10 Houstons — 4 PM ET
The Lead
Detroit enters the final day of Orlando Pro Summer League play with a lot of questions that need to be answered. This will be the last look at prospects for Detroit. The Pistons are one of seven teams in the NBA that won’t have a team in Las Vegas this weekend and into next week.
Questions loom on whether the Pistons will elect to keep or release point guard Peyton Siva. Siva has had an impressive Summer League, but did not play in Wednesday’s finale for the Pistons because of a sore hamstring. It’s still unclear if he’ll play for Detroit tomorrow morning.
Stan Van Gundy, Bob Beyer, Brendan Malone, Jeff Bower, and the rest of the Pistons staff will be getting one last look at the likes of Christian Watford, Justin Harper, Brian Cook, Ian Miller and DeAndre Liggins.
Most importantly, other teams and leagues could be getting one more look at those players before Orlando Summer League play ends.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will start for the Pistons yet again. What an amazing Summer League performance. You can throw KCP into the ring as a potential starter now, when the regular season starts.
Something you couldn’t say confidently two weeks ago.
Detroit Pistons Probable Starters
Peyton Siva. 34. player. 64. Siva didn’t play on Wednesday, but you’d think if he can go on that sore hamstring, that he will get the start and make the most of it. Siva is a roster player, but his salary isn’t guaranteed. One more solid performance might force Detroit to keep him on their roster. If Siva cant go, Ian Miller will get the start. Miller has scored 16 points in the last two games. . PG. Louisville
SG. Georgia. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. 5. player. 64. He almost did it all alone for the fourth time during Summer League, but missed on a three point attempt with .4 left on the clock. Another solid 26 point performance for KCP on Wednesday. Looking forward to fireworks from KCP to end summer play.
20. player. 64. It’s been a pleasure watching DeAndre Liggins ball the last four games. He will more than likely move on from the Pistons, the way the roster has filled out for Detroit. After today’s game, he’ll play for the Clippers in the Las Vegas Summer League.. SF. Kentucky. DeAndre Liggins
Richmond. Justin Harper. 32. player. 64. Anytime you go 7/7 from the floor, you’ve earned a start the next game. Harper did everything well against the Celtics offensively. The jury is still out defensively on if he can stick with NBA talent. The Celtics killed the Pistons in the paint last time out. Part of that was on Harper. . PF
North Texas. Tony Mitchell. 9. player. 64. There is not another player in the league like Tony Mitchell. The sad thing is that can be taken as a backhanded compliment. How many players can say they had just two points , <a href=. C
Orlando Magic Probable Starters
4. player. 38. It’s been fun watching Payton ball for the Magic this summer league. I’m not sure what Magic fans expect of him, but man — he reminds me a ton of Rajon Rondo. The way he gets players involved is definitely NBA level. His offense has been put into question, but you got to like that he is selective with his shots. He only has 11 field goal attempts in Summer League play, but he’s shooting over 70% from the field.. PG. Louisiana-Lafayette. Elfrid Payton
player. 38. English has started all three games for the Magic, after a strong showing in France last season. The former Pistons draft pick has had literally the same stat line each game. 1-3 from three, five points and 2/5 shooting. English averaged 11 points per game as the starting point guard for Chorale De Roanne of France’s ProB league.. SG. Missouri. Kim English. 23
38. The 2013 second round pick has had a good couple games for the Magic in Summer League play and is a great asset for the Magic youngsters. Playing with the D-League’s Maine Red Claws last season, Osby averaged 16 points per game on 45% shooting for the Red Claws.. F. Oklahoma. Romero Osby. 24. player
player. 38. Batts is having a great Summer League, averaging 9 points per game and five rebounds, while playing center at just 6’9″. A true forward, Batts is holding his own in the post. He’s made 57% of his field goal attempts. Batts is a player that Jeff Bower coached against at Marist and raved about last season.. F. Providence. Kadeem Batts. 20