Killian Hayes had an incomplete rookie season for the Detroit Pistons.
He missed three months with a hip injury and played much better when he returned, though he still needs big improvement in the offseason.
Hayes is still just 19-years-old and was trying to learn the toughest position in the NBA on the fly after having no offseason, getting injured and not having much time to practice or prepare.
Even with all of those challenges, Hayes showed that he can be an elite defender and passer, things which should have Pistons’ fans excited.
He finished the season averaging 6.8 points, 5.3 assists and a steal per game, numbers that aren’t going to jump off the page at you, but I predict that Hayes is going to make a huge leap next season and prove all his doubters wrong.
Here’s why.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes will have a full offseason to prepare
The last two seasons have probably been the strangest in NBA history due to the pandemic that rocked the entire planet.
We’ve all had our lives change in immeasurable ways that are far more important than basketball, but players are going through all these same things whilst trying to stay in shape and improve their games, which can’t be easy.
Killian Hayes will have a full offseason with a Summer League and more traditional NBA workout routine this offseason, which should help improve his physique and give him the time he needs to work on adding nuance to his offensive game.
Not only will Hayes have a full offseason but he knows exactly what he needs to work on and so does everyone else.
Hayes will spend the offseason focusing on his shooting, which will help him make a huge jump as as player.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes needs improved balance on his shot
Knowing precisely what you need to improve is a big advantage for a player heading into his first offseason, as Hayes can do targeted drills to help him in specific areas.
Hayes shot just 35 percent overall this season and only 27.8 percent from 3-point range, so we know he needs to get better as a shooter, but there are specific areas in which he needs work.
He needs to be better as a spot-up shooter, as he shot just 30 percent on jump shots while he shot over 50 percent on floaters.
Hayes was 25 percent on pull-ups and had some success with step back 3-pointers, shooting 33 percent, which is better but still needs a lot of work.
Part of this is that Hayes is often off-balance when he shoots, something that happens to young players who are trying to avoid defense and contact.
Hayes shoots a lot off of one foot, which is fine when he is driving for floaters and layups, but not so much when he is pulling up for a jump shot.
Hayes will focus on getting both feet underneath him on jumpers this offseason and should improve in that area. He is already very good at using his size and change of pace to get into the lane, but until he can reliably hit a jumper, teams are just going to collapse and force him to shoot over them.
Hayes is going to work on his jumper and his balance, which will help him make a leap next season.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes needs to finish at the rim
Killian Hayes has a decent little mid-range runner that he hits at a 43 percent clip, which isn’t great but is not terrible.
The problem is that he settled for way too many of those types of shots when he could have taken another dribble or two and gotten all the way to the rim.
Dwane Casey wants Hayes to be more decisive and to take that extra dribble to get to the rim,
"“…But now the decisions when that pass is not there — do I shoot the runner? Do I take another dribble and get to the rim, or do I take another dribble and go under the basket and find out? All those things take time but those are the areas he has to work on this summer to go.”"
Hayes’ indecision often led to him missing shots because he jumped before he was sure what he was going to do with it, tried to pass and then used a shot as a last resort.
This led to him only shooting 37 percent on layups, which is something that he has to improve this summer. The Detroit Pistons will have him working on taking it to the rim with the intent to finish instead of pass, which will actually open up more passing lanes as defenses have to react.
Killian Hayes and the Detroit Pistons know precisely what he has to work on this summer and will be using targeted drills to improve his balance, jump shot and confidence at the rim.
All of this work is going to lead to Killian Hayes making a huge leap next season.