3 reasons to keep watching the 2020 Detroit Pistons

2. The Young Pistons

Along with Captain Cook (shout-out to Jesse Pinkman) comes a band of other intriguing prospects in Christian Wood, Bruce Brown, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, and of course Kennard. In the past decade, I think the Pistons have had AT MOST two or three interesting prospects getting consistent minutes in the same season. This year the Pistons have five.

Credit to Ed Stefanski (except for Kennard, who was a Stan Van Gundy/Jeff Bower selection) for landing these undervalued guys. Not only do they all seem like they could project, at the very least, as rotation players but they also seem like high-character men.

Take Brown, for example, he spent a good stretch of the regular season acting as the team’s de facto point guard. He’s not a natural point guard – last season his usage rate was ranked 250/254 amongst guards that played at least 40 games. It didn’t matter. Brown was asked to start as the point guard and he played well.

Brown’s relatively limited as a scorer (his career high is 22 points) but he can spread the floor, he’s a solid passer, and can throw down some scary dunks. The real appeal with Brown, though, is his defense. He’s usually assigned the opposing team’s best guard and he’s more than held his own – he’s excelled. For an NBA sophomore who seems to be adding more to his game all the time, that’s exciting.

Kennard, who spent time as Brown’s backcourt mate this season, is a fire to Brown’s ice (shout-out to George R.R. Martin). Not a lockdown defender, but an absolute lights-out shooter and a great ball-handler with great touch around the rim, when he gets there.

I think I speak for all Pistons fans when I say we’d love to see Kennard get more aggressive. C’mon Luke! I know you want to play the “right way” but I’d like to see a little more selfishness and add a little Steph Curry-esque cooking to your game. He’s got the handles and the quick release to break guys down off the dribble. Maybe this season, without the pressure of playoff aspirations to weigh him down, he’ll start to add a little more Kobe to his game.

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I covered Wood’s progression extensively and he’s unquestionably a problem on offense and has shown incredible flashes of defensive prowess. Wood’s a talented player, his ceiling is All-Star and his floor is already off-the-bench instant offense.

Unfortunately, his future with the Pistons remains in question. He’s only signed through the end of the year and we’ll have to see how his performance waxes and wanes throughout the remainder of the year to see what kind of contract he commands. Pistons fans should be hoping that he rewards the organization where’s he played his best and most consistent basketball.

Quick side note, Wood should play the 4, not the 5. He’s a prototypical power forward. He’s athletic, stretches the floor, switchable, and has a penchant for weak-side blocks. He’s a little too skinny to play center, in my opinion, as he’s struggled to defend stronger centers.

Mykhailiuk, fresh off a career-high 25 points against the Atlanta Hawks, ranks 11th in 3-point percentage in the NBA. Despite 73% of his field-goal attempts coming from beyond the arc, he’s shown a willingness to attack the rim. The threat of his 3-point shot and solid length and athleticism may eventually allow him to add a consistent drive to the basket, ala Klay Thompson.

Mykhailiuk, much like the rest of these young Pistons, has been getting better as the season goes on. Watching how they develop and fit their games together will be worth the price of admission, and once Kennard and Jackson return the Pistons may just be too good to bottom out.