Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-42) at Utah Jazz (28-36)
- Date: March 14
- Time: 10:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the Game
After losing Friday night on the road to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Detroit Pistons will try to rebound on the second leg of a back-to-back set against the Utah Jazz.
Tonight’s contest will feature two teams poised for a bright future based on the youth of the respective teams.
Detroit will trot out Reggie Jackson, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond, which are clearly the main cogs of the team. Granted, Monroe is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but I think the Pistons will ultimately keep him.
The same can be said about soon-to-be restricted free agent Jackson, whom Detroit acquired at the trade deadline.
That core is going to develop and eventually make some noise in the Eastern Conference within two or three seasons. Although the Pistons only periodically exhibit glimpses of the type of team they can become, the potential is certainly there.
Their collective experience will give the team an avenue to grow and become a good unit. I’m quite confident that head coach Stan Van Gundy will figure out how to best utilize the threesome and take it to new heights.
The one thing that’s up for debate is the Pistons’ future of Brandon Jennings. He’s currently sidelined with a horrific Achilles tear, and Jackson’s presence means that Jennings is now expendable.
Time will tell what Detroit will do with him, but Utah has given Van Gundy the blueprint to follow.
Indeed, with Jazz center Rudy Gobert flashing all kinds of monster big man skills (rebounds, blocks and oh yes, dunks), the franchise decided to trade away Enes Kanter to the Oklahoma City Thunder (in the same deal that brought Jackson to Detroit).
As a result, Utah now boasts a killer core of Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Gobert. Yikes!
At first glance, one might not be overly impressed by that five-man lineup, and if such is the case, I would urge detractors to pay attention. Entering the game with the Pistons, the Jazz are only eight games under .500 in a killer Western Conference.
Keep in mind, it’s not like Utah has a transcendent player in the making like the New Orleans Pelicans do with Anthony Davis. Instead, the Jazz rely on their young guns to win them games, which should scare the West’s bottom playoff teams.
The frontline of Hayward, Favors and Gobert might be the best in basketball in five years given how they complement each other. Hawyward is a versatile player that does a little bit of everything while Favors is a hulking presence underneath the basket. Gobert for his part might be the second coming of Joakim Noah (just remember where you heard this first).
As good as things project to be going forward, the present offers some intrigue as well.
Who wins the Drummond versus Favors tilt?
Will the Jazz cross-match players by putting Hayward on Jackson?
Will Gobert snuff out a Monroe shot at the rim?
I have no answers to these questions, but the responses certainly warrant attention. It’s slightly disappointing that Detroit faces Utah on a night following one in which they played, but hopefully the Pistons’ energy level is similar to the Jazz’s.
By the end of the night, fans should have a clearer image emanating from the crystal ball.
Read about the Jazz