Saddiq Bey and the Detroit Pistons took another loss to the Charlotte Hornets in LaMelo Ball’s return from injury.
Ball was the focus for most of the game, but it was Bey who had the better game despite not getting nearly as much attention.
Rookies Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes were also in the starting lineup with Detroit sitting nearly all of their veterans, making 24-year-old Josh Jackson the oldest guy in the rotation.
The Pistons got into a hole early after an 18-point first quarter and were never quite able to climb out of it.
With the Orlando Magic winning last night, the Pistons are now again alone with the second-worst record in the NBA with eight games left to play.
They need to stay in the bottom three to get maximum odds at a top-four pick and have two upcoming games that could ultimately decide their lottery odds.
Here are three takeaways from another youthful and competitive loss.
Detroit Pistons: Turnovers and free throws
Two areas the Detroit Pistons will have to improve if they want to do “something big” next season are turnovers and free throws.
The Pistons turn the ball over way too much and are now 24th in the league in this category. Though they only turned it over 13 times against the Hornets, it led to 22 points, which pretty much sealed the game for high-flying Charlotte.
The Pistons also missed a bunch of free throws again, which is becoming all too common. They went just 11-of-17 from the free-throw line for 64.7 percent and are now just 20th in the NBA in team free-throw percentage.
These are often areas of struggle for young teams and the Detroit Pistons will have to improve if they want to continue to progress as a franchise over the next few seasons.
Detroit Pistons: Saddiq Bey’s complete night
Saddiq Bey came into the NBA as the 19th pick and was a guy most predicted would be a solid 3-and-D role player at best.
Now he looks like one of the steals of the 2020 NBA Draft.
Bey didn’t shoot the ball particularly well last night, though he did knock down five 3-pointers in his quest to break the all-time rookie record in the NBA.
But he also flashed his improving all-around game, grabbing seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in 40 minutes of action.
Considering this is the deepest he’s ever been in a season and is doing so without the benefit of an offseason or much of a training camp, his rookie season has been nothing short of impressive.
Many rookies hit a wall around this time in the season but Bey just keeps plugging away. He went from potential role player to potential foundational building block over the course of this season and he and Stewart are finally starting to get some national attention.
Both could and should be on the first-team All-Rookie squad this year and Pistons fans have to be excited about the future.
Detroit Pistons: Frank Jackson is the sixth man of the future
One of the best surprises of this season has been the play of two-way player Frank Jackson, who went from an afterthought to a guy who looks like the sixth man of the future.
Jackson has been instant offense off the bench for the Pistons over the second half of the season, and had another big game last night, scoring 25 points and adding seven rebounds and three assists while knocking down 6-of-11 from the 3-point line.
Jackson’s improved 3-point shooting has been a revelation, as it was really the only thing holding him back from being a productive bench player, as he can get to the rim and defends his position fairly well.
Jackson is averaging 13.7 points per game off the bench over his last ten games and is shooting 41 percent from the 3-point line overall.
He was always known as a streaky shooter, so his consistency from that area has been surprising, and he has put himself in a position to be the Pistons’ sixth man next season if they are able to re-sign him.
Jackson has put in the work to get better and I hope the Detroit Pistons are able to reward him with a team-friendly contract for next season.