SekoDoumbouya should get more minutes for the Detroit Pistons this week.
If you follow the Detroit Pistons on Twitter then you know our legions have been split into factions over Sekou Doumbouya.
There are some who believe the second-year forward should be playing big minutes. That Blake Griffin should be benched and the young guy should be out there developing, learning and taking his lumps.
The other camp thinks minutes should have to be “earned” and to be honest, it’s easy to argue either side.
On one hand, this is the NBA, not a training-wheel league and I don’t believe players should get minutes just because they were drafted in the lottery and have “potential.”
There are grown men competing for those minutes and its unfair to just give them to an inferior player because the fans want to see him play.
On the other hand, the Pistons are going nowhere and players can’t “earn” minutes if they are not on the floor to do it.
Luckily, it shouldn’t matter this week, as Sekou Doumbouya should see an increase in minutes just by default. Here’s why.
Detroit Pistons: Sekou Doumbouya will get some minutes this week
Sekou Doumbouya vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The Pistons get the pleasure of playing the Milwaukee Bucks for the third time already in this young season. YAY!
The Bucks will probably win again, but Sekou Doumbouya could see more minutes. He played 23 minutes in the first meeting with the Bucks and had one of his better games of the season with Blake Griffin out.
Sekou played 13 minutes in the second meeting (Blake was playing), which isn’t a ton but is still more than the five per game he’s gotten in the last two.
The Bucks also have a couple of matchups that would be good opportunities to get Sekou some run, particularly against rookie Jordan Nwora.
Dwane Casey should try to get Sekou out there whenever Nwora is, which may be a lot if the Bucks take a big early lead.
Back-to-Backs
The Detroit Pistons have three games remaining this week, including back-to-backs against the Wizards and Heat.
I can’t imagine Blake Griffin is going to play in all three of them, as he has mostly sat the back end of back-to-backs this season.
If I were Dwane Casey, I’d sit Blake during the Wizards game, as it would not only be a good chance to get Sekou Doumbouya extended run against a bad team, but the Pistons wouldn’t mind losing that one, as the Wizards will be their top competition for a #1 pick in the draft.
The Detroit Pistons will eventually get Sekou Doumbouya out there but I do agree with making him earn it. Luckily, there are some good reasons for him to get minutes this week, so we should see more of him.