Detroit Pistons: 3 takeaways from blowout win over Atlanta

It has happened folks, the Detroit Pistons are no longer the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

Last night’s win over Atlanta, coupled with another Orlando loss has vaulted the Pistons past the Magic into the second-worst record in the East and the fourth-worst overall.

This drops their odds of getting a top-four pick in the NBA Draft slightly to 48.1 percent and their odds of getting the overall number one pick 12.5 percent.

With the OKC Thunder tanking as badly as you’ll ever see a team tank (losers of 14 in a row) the Pistons are at real risk of dropping out of the top five, especially with Cleveland giving up as well.

We have to hope that the Lottery Gods favor the Pistons and their efforts, as Detroit has played hard all season, tried to win games and isn’t disgracing the league like some of these teams.

The Detroit Pistons put on one of their better defensive displays last night, holding the Hawks to 14.8 percent shooting from 3-point range and just 38 percent overall.

It’s hard to complain about winning when it is happening behind strong play from the youngsters, which will be the theme of today’s takeaways.

Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes swiping steals

Killian Hayes has not shot the ball well this season, which is to be expected from a young point guard trying to get comfortable in the league.

His passing has been excellent and he has zip on his passes that you rarely see outside of LeBron James.

But what has been most impressive about Hayes is his defense. He again played smothering on-the-ball defense at times last night, playing like a veteran on that end.

Hayes is averaging 1.1 steals per game on the season but has been even better since his return from injury, swiping 1.6 per game in the last ten he’s played.

Killian’s offense is going to come with time, as he’s already shown some flashes of being able to get into the lane and knock down little floaters, but his defense is already here and this kid could eventually be elite on that end.

Detroit Pistons: Frank Jackson playing with confidence

First off, I think Frank Jackson is the first player since Ben Wallace to rock both braids and a lopsided Afro in one season, so he knows how to win over fans in the D.

He is playing with otherworldly confidence since claiming a regular role as the go-to bench scorer for the Pistons.

Jackson poured in another 18 points last night and is averaging 12.1 per game over his last ten. He has scored efficiently, hit 38 percent of his 3-point shots and has been a bit of instant offense off the bench.

He’s played pretty good defense as well, as he does on this play, getting his hands on the ball on defense and then running the floor hard for the beautiful alley-oop from Hayes.

Jackson came into this season on a two-way deal and that risk appears to have paid off for both sides, as Jackson has shown potential as a backup combo guard who can do a little of everything.

The Pistons are likely to move on from some of their veterans this offseason and Jackson could very well be the replacement.

I’ve liked Jackson going back to his days in New Orleans, so am happy to see him thriving in this role.

Detroit Pistons: Sekou Doumbouya making progress defensively

Doumbouya is starting to show progress on both ends of the floor, which is all fans really wanted to see from him this season.

His box score numbers won’t jump out at you, though he was productive in his 18 minutes last night, but what stood out to me was several times when Doumbouya played stout on the ball defense.

This is how he will earn minutes, as Casey clearly has a preference for defense over offense and is only going to play guys who put in the work on the defensive end.

Casey has said that he wants to see more of Tyler Cook and Doumbouya as the season winds down and hopefully Doumbouya has done enough to earn some additional minutes in the home stretch.

The Pistons closed out the game with an all under-22 lineup, which has to have fans excited.

It’s not great that the lottery odds are slightly worse, but if those couple of percentage points come with the benefit of player development it is worth it.