Grading the Detroit Piston’s preseason opener
The Detroit Pistons recently opened the Little Caesar’s Arena with its first preseason game. They lost to the Charlotte Hornets by a score of 108-106. Here we’re going to go over how the players performed in their first game.
Detroit Pistons starters
Ish Smith– Smith was the starting one for the Detroit Pistons instead of Reggie Jackson, who was held out with a minor injury. He logged 31 minutes, 10 points, 7 assists, 3 steals, and even a block. He had a pretty good game defensively, but it was offset by 5 turnovers.
Grade: C
Avery Bradley– Bradley started at the two, as expected. In his 30 minutes he grabbed 14 points, three assists, one rebound, and one steal and block. However, he also had 5 turnovers, and some of them were unforced.
Grade: D-
Stanley Johnson– Johnson was able to grab the start at the three for the preseason opener, to the happiness of some and disappointment of others. He was able to get eight points, an assist, 4 rebounds, and one steal while only losing the ball once. His shooting was inefficient, but his on-ball defense was solid. He seemed like a non-factor throughout his 25 minutes, although there wasn’t necessarily a star player for him to lock up.
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Grade: C+
Tobias Harris– Harris got the start at the four, probably to make up for Johnson’s lack of offense. Harris was almost able to open with a double-double at 13 points and nine rebounds. He had two turnovers to complement his two assists. His turnovers came at a crucial time though, with the Pistons down two and only a few seconds to go, and it cost them the game late, but that’s what the preseason is for.
Grade: C-
Andre Drummond– Drummond was the obvious start down low, and despite some terrible post ups, he played a solid game. Drummond did log a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, then add a block, steal, and an assist. He, along with the rest of the starters, had too many turnovers with three.
Grade: B-
Bench
Henry Ellenson– Ellenson was the first off the bench, and slotted into the four. He had one of the most efficient games out of the Pistons, shooting 50 percent from the field. Ellenson scored 10 points, got 2 rebounds, an assist, and one turnover. His play was solid, but kind of quiet. At 6’11”, he should be more of a presence on the boards with or without Drummond on the hardwood.
Grade: C+
Jon Leuer– Leuer was undoubtedly the most efficient player on Detroit, and looked really good offensively. He was two for two from deep and five for six overall. He scored 12 points, grabbed five boards, one assist, a block, and only logged one turnover in 23 minutes. Jon Leuer looked confident and fresh, like he did at the start of last season. If he keeps this up, he’ll be an incredibly valuable piece.
Grade: B+
Boban Marjanovic– The Serbian DEMIGOD was able to show us once again that he could be a monster, if released for a full game. In 12 minutes, he scored 5 points with 3 from the foul line, 7 rebounds, and one turnover. The fan-base is still awaiting the day when Van Gundy decides to release his hidden W.M.D.
Grade: C+
Langston Galloway– The seemingly overpaid Detroit Pistons free agent didn’t have the best of nights, but he played at the one for the majority of it. And according to Van Gundy, he only logged about 8 practice minutes there. Galloway got eight points, three assists, and two rebounds. He only shot 33 percent from the field, although he managed not to commit any turnovers in 22 minutes.
Grade: C
Luke Kennard: Last but not least, the ACC’s leading scorer, Luke Kennard! While Kennard was able to get 10 points in his first NBA “game”, he only went one for five from deep. That can probably be chalked up to nerves and adjusting to the speed of the game, but he’ll need to right that ship to fill his role on this roster. He did show that he was willing to take important shots however, when he drained a pull-up mid-range to tie the back and forth game with a couple of minutes left. He was able to add a rebound and assist to those numbers, with no turnovers.
Grade: C
Next: 5 goals for Avery Bradley this season
Conclusion
Overall, the team showed more promise than it did throughout last season. Detroit was able to space the floor and finish inside, or at least show we were capable. The starters had a ridiculous amount of turnovers, coming in at 16. But the preseason is there for mistakes, and offers teams the opportunities to fix them. These guys are just getting their basketball legs underneath them again, and it looks like they could be mean once they get back into it. Let’s hope this season will be one to remember.