3 Takeaways From The Detroit Pistons First Win Of The Season

The Detroit Pistons got their first win of the season by defeating the Boston Celtics by a score of 96-93.

1. Saddiq Bey isn’t scared.

Saddiq Bey may or may not be a consistent performer for the Detroit Pistons.

Before this game he was struggling to get shots to fall and looked lost on the defensive end. But one thing remained, he was pulling the trigger on his shots whenever he got the chance and was playing with a confident assertion that is rare among rookies.

Tonight we saw the upside, Bey scored 17 points and shot 5-8 from deep on the night to be tied for the Pistons’ second-highest scorer. He is such an aggressive shooter that if he can hit anything close to a respectable number of his three-pointers teams will start to bend towards him when he’s on the floor which will be a boon for his play.

Defensively he looked less terrible than his previous outings as well. That isn’t saying a lot but there were a few possessions that he handled with quick thinking and good movement, his athleticism will hold him back on the defensive end but he’s big enough that if he learns to keep his head on a swivel and navigate the floor he should be able to at least hold his own.

So while questions are still there, just as it would be foolish to have judged him too harshly after shooting poorly in his first two outings, it would be foolish to get too excited from one night of good shooting, but the sheer confidence he has in his shot does raise the upside of his offensive game. If he proves to be a legitimate shooter he will be a real weapon.

2. Jerami Grant is legit.

I had skepticism, many outright mocked Jerami Grant and his decision to leave Denver for Detroit seeking a larger role.

This wasn’t unfair, Grant had never been anything even remotely resembling an offensive centerpiece, firmly a role player, a good one, but still a role player.

It will be a challenge to continue this all season, he’s taken a lot of hits which wears down guys over the course of the season, and opposing defenses will do more to zero in on his offense.

He’s already proven the doubters wrong. Even if he wears down as the season goes on, even if defenses that are focusing on stopping him slows him down, the simple fact that we are here wondering “I wonder if he can keep doing this when teams are ready for him” is already the victory.

He is so incredibly long and athletic that even though his handle isn’t all the way there, if he gets any space he only needs to take one dribble to get from the three-point line to the hoop and it’s so quick it is hard to respond too.

It’s likely that the numbers will come down, but Grant has proven that he deserved a shot in a bigger role. Good for him.

3. Killian Hayes needs something to change.

His night wasn’t actually as bad as the goose egg in the points column makes it look due to 6 assists with just 2 turnovers.

But he went 0-5 from the field and has easily been one of the worst players in the league in the young season. His offensive efficiency is untenable even for a rookie who you expect to have growing pains, Celtic defenders clearly had no respect for him and got completely in his jersey and he rarely made them pay.

This isn’t panic time here. Far too early for that. But somehow he is completely off his game to start the season. Maybe taking him out of the starting lineup would help, maybe some sort of change of the guys he’s playing with, maybe try using him in different ways. I’m not sure what the answer is, but some sort of change to try and get him to snap out of this would be good.