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

Shooting guards

Bruce Brown: F

Ahh yes, our first “F” of the 2019-20 Pistons season. A grade this low may seem harsh, but Bruce Brown did fail tonight against the Hawks. Never known for his offensive abilities, Brown didn’t surprise tonight as he scored two points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field. While he doesn’t often contribute a lot offensively, Pistons fans love Brown for his tough, gritty defense and lockdown capabilities. That defensive prowess, however, seemed to be left in Indianapolis for Brown.

Brown was tasked with guarding Young from the outset, and Young came out absolutely firing. It appeared as though Young could not miss, and whether he was hitting shots from the Pistons logo, or driving into the rim, he was having his way with Brown. While no one can truly lock down Young, Brown’s counterpart Langston Galloway handled the task in a much more effective way.

In addition to getting torched early and often defensively, Brown also got into some quick foul trouble, missing a ton of time late in the game with five fouls.

He is still a great defender; he just didn’t have it tonight. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back to his lockdown ways on Saturday, but as for this game, it’s probably one he’d like to just put behind him.

Luke Kennard: C

Luke Kennard was stellar on Wednesday night against Indiana, dropping a career-high 30 points. While it wasn’t quite expected for him to emulate that number, again, against the Hawks, Kennard left a lot to be desired out on the court. He finished with 13 points, three assists, and four rebounds, but shot a meager 3-of-12 from the field and  3-for-9 from behind the arc.

Kennard came out firing in this one, drilling his first two three’s of the game. From there, though, it seemed as though he became stagnant, especially in the second half. When the offense was sputtering, the team desperately needed him to make a play, and too often it seemed as though he had no interest in doing so. Kennard worked to get himself good looks from three, but his shots weren’t dropping, and seemed to be very passive instead of looking to create his own shot.

The Pistons need Kennard to be aggressive and work to get good shots up and in if they’re going to be successful on the offensive end, and that’s something that he’ll need to bring to the next game.