Detroit Pistons summer league action continues tomorrow against Bulls
By Travis Gibbs
On Saturday, the Detroit Pistons will look to advance in the winners bracket of the 2018 summer league. They have a tall task against the Chicago Bulls.
The Detroit Pistons have responded well after getting off to what was a painfully slow start in the 2018 summer league. They’ve won their last two games and now face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Last Friday, the received a wake-up call from the Milwaukee Bucks summer league team. They pummeled the Pistons on their way to a 90-63 victory.
On Saturday, they saw former Michigan State stand-out Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Memphis Grizzlies. This one came down to the wire but Memphis held on for a 73-70 win.
On Monday and Wednesday, they picked up wins against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Detroit Pistons standouts in summer league
We’ve been able to get a good look at both of our newly acquired draft picks in four games. Bruce Brown and Khyri Thomas have both shown great things in the time they’ve been given to play.
On Wednesday, Brown did a little bit of everything on his way to 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. It was nice to see him have a good game after somewhat struggling offensively in the first three games.
Brown showed his ability to muscle down to the rim and run great transition offense off of turnovers.
Thomas has quietly been one of the best players from this year’s summer league for the Detroit Pistons. He’s been in double-digits in scoring a number of times and has been as good as advertised on the defensive end of the floor.
Henry Ellenson has had an up-and-down summer league but has managed to put together a good performance or two.
Breaking down the Chicago Bulls
The Bulls went 2-2 in summer league action before defeating the Dallas Mavericks 95-83 to advance to the winners bracket.
The first player we should mention from the Bulls summer league roster is their ten 10 pick from June’s draft. Wendell Carter Jr. has proved to be a valuable pick thus far.
He’s been blocking a lot of shots and being a rim protector. Carter has also been a productive member on the offensive end of the floor as well.
Another player worth noting on Chicago’s summer league roster is Antonio Blakeney. He was the G-League rookie of the year for the Windy City Bulls. Blakeney averaged 32 points per game and six rebounds. He’ll likely have a roster spot with Chicago this season.
University of Loyola-Chicago standout Donte Ingram is also a part of the Bulls summer league roster. He helped them make a Final Four appearance last season.
The Detroit Pistons will have their hands full on Saturday.