The preseason has come and gone for the Detroit Pistons, and today we’re going to take a look at the top three performers from the Pistons exhibition games.
The Detroit Pistons played a relatively consistent preseason on both ends of the floor, and undoubtedly the most satisfying thing to watch was the team’s second unit. However the Pistons did have a few individual stars throughout those games, so let’s start with the most obvious one.
Christian Wood
It almost goes without say that Christian Wood was the top performer for Detroit. Whether it was finishing at the rim coming off of back door cuts, attacking the basket on his own, or protecting the rim on defense, Wood did it all. After scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 rebounds on 60 percent shooting in the preseason opener, it almost felt as if he had already locked up the final roster spot.
As it has been continuously mentioned, Wood has been in competition with Joe Johnson for the final roster spot heading into the regular season. There was seemingly nobody who felt as if his presence in Detroit was unnecessary, and that was a narrative that held up as the preseason went on, as Wood’s play was remarkable.
Ultimately Wood’s ability to execute pick and rolls and space the floor will be detrimental to Detroit’s second unit success, and that was on full display in the preseason. There were seldom any other players who out-shined Wood, as he was continuously finishing at the rim with aggression that Pistons fans love.
There may be some heavy criticism in store for Detroit’s front office in the off chance that Wood doesn’t make the team.