Detroit Pistons summer league game three recap: Bruce Brown shines

The Detroit Pistons edge out the Minnesota Timberwolves 64-59 to move forward in the 2018 Summer League tournament.

The Pistons were able to hold on against the Timberwolves, winning 64-59. The Pistons did blow the 19-point lead they had heading into halftime but were able to hang on through some tough defense.

Bruce Brown was the star of the game, finishing with a remarkable 15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, five steals, and a block. He also led the team with 32 minutes.

The Great

Fortunately, there was a lot of good in this game. Similarly to their last game against New Orleans, the  Detroit Pistons came out of the gates strong. They ended the first half up 36-17 largely through their excellent defense (and the Timberwolves missing a lot of shots).

Bruce Brown had a strong day on offense, particularly in the paint. He repeatedly drove into the lane, fearlessly attacking larger defenders. Khyri Thomas didn’t show the offensive skills that he did in the last game.

However, both rookies stood out on defense in a big way. Check out this clip of them shutting down the Timberwolves together in the first half:

On the broadcast, Doris Burke was rightly praising Brown’s defensive ability. She noted that he is one of those special players who can guard three different positions on the floor.

There’s an argument to take that a step further and say that he could guard point guards as well. Draft expert Mike Schmitz also had good things to say about Brown.

Side note: It is a complete delight to hear Doris Burke call a Detroit Pistons game. Many Detroit fans gripe about how the team is covered on national broadcasts, but Doris completely killed it.

Bruce Brown ended the game with 11 assists. He’s shown himself to be a fantastic passer and he can create separation off the dribble.

He actually ended the game at point guard and this might be where we could see him down the road. This echoes the comments made by Jim Larranaga, his old coach at Miami, that his NBA future is at point guard.

The Good

Larry Drew II, a veteran of the Summer League and son of NBA player Larry Drew, continues to look smooth on the court. He’s not sensational, but he might earn a two-way deal. It might not be with the Pistons, but he looks like an NBA player.

Eric Griffin really stuck out in this game, starting with a steal and score he got in the second quarter. He missed a shot which the defender rebounded, but he stripped him and laid it in for a bucket.

He also added a block, three rebounds, and six points in the first half,  going +16 in that time. His chase-down block at the end of the second quarter was fun.

Griffin came off the bench but earned 29 minutes for his hard work. It should be noted that he is an older player for Summer League at 28.

At 6’8″, he’s also someone who might not fit in the modern NBA game since he’s basically an undersized center. Nevertheless, the coaching staff definitely liked what they saw, and we could see him start at center in the next game.

The Bad

This Summer League, we’ve seen a fair amount of the two-way players from the 2017-18 season find success. That has not really been the case for Reggie Hearn.

Hearn, who is billed as a shooter, scored only four points on 1-for-7 shooting. This could be the beginning of the end of his time with the team.

The Detroit Pistons as a whole were blocked seven times by the Timberwolves. Most of these came from Josh Okojie, a Georgia Tech product, who looked impressive on defense. He gave Bruce Brown and Khyri Thomas a lot of problems, finishing with four blocks. He was likely a big part of why Thomas struggled on offense today.

The Ugly

Henry Ellenson largely struggled, going 3-17 for seven points. You don’t want to put too much stock into Summer League.

However, in your third year, it’s not a good sign to be playing this poorly. Similarly to Dragan Bender in Phoenix, you’d want to see these guys dominating and not shooting under 20 percent from the field.

On the positive side, Henry does continue to move the ball well in transition, and he was able to wrangle in 7 rebounds this games. His ball-handling is impressive for his size, but I think he gets a serious case of tunnel vision when going to the basket, and he is having a really tough time shooting the ball from any spot on the floor.

What’s Next?

The win tonight moves the Pistons to the next round of the tournament bracket. They’ll be up against Wendell Carter and the Chicago Bulls this Saturday.

Next: Why Metro Detroit should give these Pistons a chance