The Detroit Pistons will step into the ring against the Utah Jazz at home in LCA at 7:00 tonight, which will be the second of a back-to-back for the Jazz as they come off of a 117-91 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
An intriguing fact about the match-up is that Pistons’ wingman Luke Kennard was drafted at No. 12 in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Utah Jazz snatched up Donovan Mitchell at No. 13 and the young player put on a ROY performance that was shown up by Ben Simmons being Ben Simmons. Saturday night’s game will be one of redemption for both second-year shooters.
While Mitchell had an inspiring performance in his first year, he has yet to capture that magic in the 2018-19 NBA season.
His field-goal efficiency has been called into question this season as his three-point shot percentage (29.9 percent) has fallen a little more than four percent (34.0 percent), along with his general field-goal percentage and his rate at the free throw line.
Luke Kennard did not get the same parade coming in to the league that Mitchell has had.
This is partially because of buyer’s remorse on the part of Detroit Pistons fans. Kennard was not as appreciated as he should have been for his rookie campaign.
As he becomes a more pivotal part of the Detroit Pistons game plan, Luke will need to continue being a better decision maker and staying active and ready off the ball.
The game against Utah Jazz should give him plenty of scoring opportunities as their defense on the perimeter is questionable, allowing 36.4 percent beyond the three-point line.
Both teams have premiere rebounders. The Detroit Pistons have Andre Drummond, who logs 14.9 rebounds and leads the league in contested rebounds per game (7.4).
Rudy Gobert falls a bit beneath those numbers only averaging 12.2 rebounds per and 4.3 contested. However, Drummond is more of an anomaly.
His rebounding numbers are mind-blowing but the rest of his game has slowed developmentally as his lack of efficiency makes him more of a liability beside Blake Griffin.
The Detroit Pistons still have postseason dreams as the eastern conference is more forgiving when a team stumbles in the first half of the season.
The Utah Jazz game serves as another stepping stone to get them there.