Detroit Pistons: Dennis Smith Jr. and Saben Lee separate themselves
If you had told me at the beginning of the season that Dennis Smith Jr. and some guy called Saben Lee would be playing big minutes at point guard I would have said that something went drastically wrong.
It did.
Rookie Killian Hayes went down with injury. Delon Wright joined him a few weeks later and the Detroit Pistons were suddenly left with a retread and a 2nd-round draft pick splitting time at point guard.
So far they’ve made the most of it, as both have played well and solidified their chances to be a part of the future of this roster.
Frank Jackson is also in the mix, but so far has played limited minutes, mostly in mop-up time, so it appears Smith Jr. and Lee have separated themselves a bit.
This is a pleasant surprise to say the least, as no one expected Lee to play this season and Smith Jr. was really just a shot in the dark in the Derrick Rose trade.
They both look better the more they play, which has been the silver lining of the Delon Wright injury.
The Detroit Pistons are still playing hard for their coach and still losing competitive games. The tank is going as planned and Detroit is one of the more entertaining “bad” teams in the NBA.