The Detroit Pistons came away with a victory over the Washington Wizards by a wide margin. They controlled the game from start to finish and many players has positive outings. What were the standout takeaways?
Jerami Grant showing signs of life.
It is preseason, but there is no denying that Grant’s play is a source of concern. He came to the Detroit Pistons for a larger role but he looked completely helpless every time he decided to try and do anything beyond the role-player stuff he was doing in Denver last season.
While he still had some very ugly attempts to dribble and create, Grant showed signs of life tonight.
For starters he went 3-5 from deep, showing off his prowess as a spot-up shooter, but he had (by my unofficial count) two different times he put the ball on the floor and not only looked capable but also got a good result!
It still isn’t much, the evidence so far still points, overwhelmingly, to Grant being a long ways from being any sort of offensive creator, but it is nice to finally see some evidence that he may find a niche.
It is worth mentioning here, that how good he looked off the ball tonight does almost make his struggles with it in his hands even more frustrating.
He knows how to move to open space and has a quick trigger as a spot-up guy, combined with his effectiveness as a rim-runner and it is definitely possible to design an offense that would allow Grant to take a larger role and be effective, design plays to get him open looks from deep and also have fun rolling him to the hoop.
But Dwane Casey probably told him “well if you want more shots then just shoot more”.
The Josh Jackson revival may be on for real.
Jackson has had his career derailed by many things, some of which had nothing to do with basketball. Sticking to the on the court stuff, one of his biggest issues was his horrific shooting.
One of the most productive signs from his quest through the G-League to find himself was that he appeared to have found his jumper. Last season he shot 38 percent on nearly 200 total attempts in the G-League.
Jackson has looked sharp in the preseason and continued tonight, scoring 17 points and going 3-4 from deep. I think that the ship of Jackson finding the sort of form that allows him to make good on the star potential that got him drafted 4th overall has sailed.
But if he really has found his shot he could be an excellent complimentary player.
Delon Wright: Finding his groove
Wright had 13 points on 5-7 shooting and has looked comfortable in two straight outings.
He is in a tricky role, starting at the two-guard next to Killian Hayes but being expected to run the offense enough to take the pressure off of Hayes. It will be a difficult line to walk all season, but Wright is a gritty and versatile player who has a good chance to make it work on both ends.
There is a real chance he will be a standout in terms of endearing himself to the Detroit fan-base this season in what could end up being a tough season to watch.