The Detroit Pistons blew a winnable game down the stretch against the shorthanded Clippers, who needed a late run to get past the feisty Pistons.
The Magic and Cavaliers both lost as well, though the NBA-worst Timberwolves did pick up their 14th win of the season, so Detroit is now just two games from having the worst record in the NBA.
There is no statistical difference when it comes to getting a top-four or the number one pick, but the league’s worst record is guaranteed to stay in the top five, which is important in a draft that has five players who are considered a tier above the rest.
Killian Hayes, Jerami Grant and Dennis Smith Jr. all sat in this one, but the next Pistons in line stepped up as they have done all season. Detroit didn’t get the win but they continued their run of competitive games against the NBA’s best teams.
Here are three positives to take from the loss to the Clippers.
Detroit Pistons: The never-ending point guard battle
It seems like the Detroit Pistons must have a point guard tree behind Little Caesar’s Arena, as they have gone through about 800 of them this season and they’ve all been decent.
Killian Hayes went down and Delon Wright stepped up. Delon Wright got injured and Saben Lee and Dennis Smith Jr. stepped up. The latest in the line is Cory Joseph, who has played very well in the starting point guard role since coming to the Pistons in the Delon Wright trade.
In fact, Joseph has been better than Wright and came with two second-round picks, so that deal is looking more and more like a home run every day.
Joseph scored 18 points and added 13 assists against the Clippers and is now averaging 10 points and five assists over his last ten games.
The Pistons have had a revolving door of point guards all season and all of them have made an impact. Troy Weaver just keeps showing that he has an eye for undervalued talent, with Joseph being the latest example.
Detroit Pistons: Josh and Frank Jackson are heating up
Both Josh Jackson and Frank Jackson have been red hot over the last few games and are definitely separating themselves in the battle for a future roster spot.
Josh Jackson has found the touch after going ice cold for a stretch of games where it looked like he might lose his spot in the rotation to Hamidou Diallo. Jackson notched 26 against the Clippers after scoring 21 against the Trail Blazers, but more importantly is how he’s doing it.
Josh Jackson has cut down the number of 3-pointers he’s been taking but is making more of them, hitting over 46 percent from long range over the last ten games.
He is now up to 31 percent from the season and if he can keep this up, might sniff league average before it is all said and done. If Josh Jackson can take care of the ball and make the occasional 3-point shot, he is going to be a very valuable player for the Detroit Pistons next season.
Frank Jackson has been shooting the 3-ball well all season and lately has been providing the Pistons with instant offense off the bench.
He’s been averaging double digits over his last ten games, shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. He’s having the best year of his career from behind the arc and has played tough on-the-ball defense, so Frank Jackson is definitely a guy the Pistons will take a hard look at in the offseason.
He could be a low-cost and young replacement for Wayne Ellington, especially if he can consistently hit over 40 percent from deep.
Detroit Pistons: Saddiq Bey getting close to all-time rookie record
Saddiq Bey hit another five 3-pointers last night and inched a bit closer to another record.
Bey has already set the all-time Pistons’ rookie record for 3-point shots made in a season but now has the all-time NBA record in site.
Bey has now hit 120 from behind the arc this season and the rookie record owned by Donovan Mitchell is 187, so Bey still has some work to do but it is within reach.
After last night, Bey will need to hit 3.7 from 3-point range per game to break the all time record.
He is already atop an elite list of rookies, as he has the record for best 3-point percentage for any rookie that has taken at least six attempts.
Bey notched 25 points last night and looks every bit like a guy who will end up in the top-five of the Rookie of the Year voting this season.
Bey won’t win the award, but finishing in the top-five would be quite an achievement considering he was the 19th pick. There was a small but VERY vocal group of Pistons’ fans who were crying that Detroit gave up a bunch of second-round picks along with Luke Kennard to get Saddiq Bey.
How’s that working out? Kennard is worse and making $16 million a year while Bey looks like a foundational piece of the core. As someone who was absolutely giddy to see Kennard leave, this couldn’t have worked out better.