Saddiq Bey had a breakout week for the Detroit Pistons and is finally getting some attention from the national media.
As Bey continues to climb the rookie ladder, we can expect a whole lot more of this, as he already looks like the steal of the draft considering he was the 19th pick.
Zach Lowe featured Bey in his beloved “Ten Things” article, in which he breaks down ten things that he either loves or hates about that week in the NBA.
Lowe is one of the few national analysts who actually watches the games of teams outside of contention and there are few in the business who are better at breaking it down.
He had some surprising things to say about Bey, who came into the league as a 3-and-D wing who wasn’t thought to have much else to offer.
Detroit Pistons: Zach Lowe points out Saddiq Bey’s underrated skill
Saddiq Bey is shooting 41.5 percent from long-range this season, so we already know he has that skill to build around, but Lowe sees more offensive weapons in his future.
"“Detroit has given Bey some freedom to work on the block against smaller players, and the very early results have been encouraging.”"
Bey has never been thought of a as a guy who can bully defenders in the post, but he clearly has the size and strength to do it, even at this young age, and he should only get better.
Lowe added:
"“The idea is not that Bey will become a high-volume post player. It is that in some theoretical future playoff matchup, he can manufacture a few points against switches when nothing else is working — points that might swing one quarter, which could swing one game, which could swing one series.”"
I tend to agree with this assessment, as Saddiq Bey is never likely to be a dominant post player, nor a guy who take a high volume of shots, as that is just not who he is.
But it’s nice to have this skill in your bag, especially when teams are going to start challenging Bey a lot more at the 3-point line given his early success.
Saddiq Bey has already won Eastern Conference Player of the Week and there is hopefully much more in store, but there could be wrinkles to his game that no one really predicted.
Troy Weaver appears to have found a real one in Saddiq Bey, whose hard work ethic and red-hot shooting have already made him a fan favorite.