Thon Maker ended the season on a higher note for the Detroit Pistons. But, the Playoff Thon people saw for Milwaukee has not shown his face for Detroit.
The Detroit Pistons were unsure of whether Blake Griffin would play for them in this first round series. Before making his debut in the playoffs for Detroit in game three, Thon Maker was slotted in to fill the void at power forward Griffin was leaving behind.
I had just wrote a rather encouraging piece about Maker, and how well he had played with Andre Drummond and how the length and athleticism of the two made opposing offenses scared to attack inside against them.
Along with his encouraging play next to Drummond during the final stretch of the season, Pistons fans had all heard the stories told by Milwaukee Bucks fans of Playoff Thon. No one thought Maker could replicate even a little bit of what Griffin could do, and no one thought he’d actually play well enough for the Detroit Pistons to steal a game in Milwaukee.
But, Maker has been pretty bad for the Pistons in the playoffs and it’s hurt Detroit.
Maker has struggled guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, as just about anyone would giving up the amount of strength Maker is giving up. The problem is he’s not just struggling to guard him, he’s fouling him almost every time he gets matched up with him. He had four fouls in game one, and then had three fouls in 10 minutes of playtime in game three.
At times, it looks as if Maker isn’t even attempting to guard The Greek Freak, he’s just trying to go out and foul him and send him to the line. Maker has also mistakenly guarded The Freak at the three point line, when it has been clear the game plan is to sag completely off of Giannis.
It’s been even worse on the offensive end.
Maker has shot nine three pointers, the majority of them being completely wide open. This is not a coincidence, as it’s been the Bucks design to give Maker open threes and play help defense like crazy off of him.
Maker hasn’t made the Bucks EVEN ONCE.
Yes, Maker is 0-9 from beyond the arc through the Detroit Pistons first three games. His struggles aren’t only coming from beyond the arc, but the whole court of play as well. In game three, Maker made his only shot attempt. However, before game three, Maker was shooting a combined 4-19 through the first two games of the series. That is good(?) for a field goal percentage of 21 percent.
Maker isn’t bringing it on the offensive end, where he was suppose to be an upgrade over Stanley Johnson. He’s also struggling mightily on the defensive end, where Johnson would’ve been a major plus right now in guarding Giannis.
You know this writer is going to bring this up whenever he can, as I said we would start to miss Johnson in the playoffs a long time ago.
Maker’s struggles have been a disappointment in these playoffs. The Detroit Pistons are going against the best team in the league, so that makes it just a tad more understanding. But, Maker’s play doesn’t look like the product of that. He’s literally being given wide open threes, and on defense it looks like he’s fouling and then guarding.
If the Detroit Pistons want to avoid a sweep on Monday, they’ll need some decent minutes from Maker; especially if Griffin doesn’t play.
We’ll see if Maker can end the series on a good note.