Detroit Pistons: 3 takeaways from blowout loss to the Knicks
The Detroit Pistons got Killian Hayes back just in time to get throttled by the New York Knicks in an embarrassing blowout.
The Pistons never had a lead in this one and were down by as many as 47, which made it easy to turn over and watch Jalen Suggs carry his Gonzaga team to the NCAA Finals.
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So is this what real tanking looks like? If so, I want no part of it, as the Pistons were flat-out horrible and not the competitive bunch we’ve seen for most of the season.
There wasn’t much positive but let’s start with the return of Killian Hayes and his passing.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes is back!
The one positive from this game was the return of Killian Hayes, which is something most of us didn’t think we would see this season.
Hayes came off the bench for 20 minutes of action and missed all three of his shots, though he did add five rebounds and three assists.
Hayes has not shown much this season, but one thing is for certain: he might already be the best passer on the team.
He threw this laser dime through traffic, which is something he’s done several times this season.
He also played quite a lot off the ball, which will be something to watch over the last 23 games, as the Detroit Pistons could very well draft a point guard and might be experimenting with moving Hayes around on the perimeter.
What I’d really like to see is Killian Hayes get some level of comfort with the speed of the NBA game, to build some confidence and to spend the offseason working on his game, which definitely needs some refinement.
He still looks hesitant at times, but that will hopefully go away as he gets more reps. It was a game the Pistons would like to forget but getting Hayes back is really more important.