Detroit Pistons player grades in 117-100 loss to Atlanta Hawks

Point guards

Reggie Jackson: C

Reggie Jackson got off to quite a rough start in this one, air-balling his first two 3-point attempts and getting serenaded by boos from the fans at LCA. It is evident that Jackson’s back issue is still bothering him, and that without a doubt hampered him Thursday night.

Jackson’s health issues caused him to be tentative on the court and was clearly affecting his play. In addition to this, it limited him to just 15 minutes for the game. In his short time on the court, Jackson scored five points on a rough 25% from the field. But it seemed as though that he did everything he could to create for others, dishing three assists and setting up some other offensive sequences for success as well. Jackson grabbed four rebounds and had a dynamic drive and dunk in the first half that got the crowd on its feet.

All-in-all, nothing special for Jackson last night. We’ll have to wait until Saturday to see if he can shake that nagging injury and improve upon this performance.

Derrick Rose: B+

Derrick Rose was well on his way to an A+ grade through most of this game before fading toward the end.

Building off of his stellar performance against the Pacers the night before, Rose seemed determined to take it a step further against the Hawks. As soon as he entered the game, Rose was looking to attack and score. Playmaking seemed like almost more of an afterthought, and that was okay because of just how efficient Rose was in this one. Starting 9-for-10 from the field, and genuinely seemed like Rose could not miss, and he knew it too. Rose was aggressive and efficient as could be, until he wasn’t.

Down the stretch in the fourth quarter, the Pistons were struggling to provide anything offensively, and this led to Rose trying to take on too much and play a little bit of “hero ball.” Rose began forcing up tough, contested shots, leading to more misses and turnovers down the stretch when the Pistons really couldn’t afford it.

His 27 points off the bench led the team, and for a while he was the only source of offense they had, but unfortunately he waivered down the stretch, just like the rest of the team.

Tim Frazier: C

Frazier got 10 minutes for the Pistons off the bench, which was a big step up from his one minute of playing time against the Pacers the night before. In his 10 minutes, Frazier contributed 7 points on 2-of-5 shooting and an assist.

These numbers seem decent for a third string point guard in limited playing time, but what brought Frazier down was his 3-point shooting. He went 1-for-4 from three with a pair of air-balls down the stretch just isn’t getting the job done, evening him out to an average “C” grade.