10 takeaways from the Detroit Pistons first half of the season
1. Sekou’s plan coming to fruition
Fans may not have been thrilled with Sekou Doumbouya starting the season in the G League but he’s here to stay in the NBA. The Pistons rookie selected 15th overall last June has played in 13 games, starting six.
More. Sekou is silver lining to Pistons season. light
He’s compared to Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, who is becoming the face of the Raptors franchise. Siakam’s evolution was part of now-Pistons coach Dwane Casey’s plan. The difference between the two’s rookie seasons are Doumbouya just turned 19 in late December and Siakam was 22.
Even then, the similarities between their numbers is striking. One area where Doumbouya has exceeded Siakam early on, and it’s a small sample size, is in 3-point shooting.
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | G | GS | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sekou Doumbouya | 2019-20 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 15.8 | 5.2 | .456 | 1.8 | .348 | 3.5 | .511 | .515 | 1.3 | .647 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 6.2 |
| 2 | Pascal Siakam | 2016-17 | 22 | 55 | 38 | 15.6 | 3.7 | .502 | 0.1 | .143 | 3.6 | .515 | .505 | 0.6 | .688 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 4.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/14/2020.
Detroit is fortunate to have an athletic forward to build around. It’s worked out well for the East-leading Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the defending champion Raptors and Kevin Durant. Doumbouya has plenty of growing to do before he reaches that elite level of play, but he hasn’t been afraid of the moment.
He announced his arrival to the NBA world by rising up and dunking on Tristan Thompson visiting the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 7. Other than that, his movement offensively is fluid. He’s continuing to learn the offense and getting comfortable.
On the defensive end, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. His 6-foot-8 frame, 6-11 wingspan and agility gives him versatility on the wing. He’ll have to bulk up some from his 208-pound frame to handle centers. But his ability to get deflections and affect shots has already been noticed.
For the first time in a long time, Pistons fans can feel good about a budding prospect.