Three things to watch in Detroit Pistons summer league opener

The Detroit Pistons open its NBA Summer League schedule on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2) against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It marks the debut of Cade Cunningham, as well as many other interesting storylines.

This will be the first time a Pistons team takes the court since the NBA regular season ended in mid-May, with Detroit finishing 20-52.

Since that time, in case you have just returned from a desert island, oh yeah, the Pistons got the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft for the first time in 51 years.

The player they selected first, Cade Cunningham, will be playing, as well as two other draft choices. And the Pistons were such a young team, some key players will also be in action.

Lots of reasons to check out the game. Here are three important things to keep an eye on during the contest:

3. Big guys trying to be Steph Curry

The Pistons drafted three players in addition to Cunningham. Michigan’s Isaiah Livers is sitting summer league out with a foot injury but the other two, 6-foot-11 Luka Garza and 7-1 Balsa Koprivica, will be there.

Both players scored almost all of their points in college (Garza at Iowa and Koprivica at Florida State) down in the low post, a few feet from the basket.

But that kind of shooting will not fly in the current three-point crazy NBA. Andre Drummond scores all of his points close to the basket, how has it worked out for him?

Since the draft, the Internet has been filled with videos courtesy of Garza’s dad, Frank Garza, of his son working on shooting 3-pointers. 

Koprivica shot exactly one three-pointer in two seasons at Florida State. But, guess what, he now can shoot threes as well.

Seeing if Garza and Koprivica can make three-pointers when they have someone in their face, trying to stop them, is certainly something to note. With the trade of Mason Plumlee, there might be some playing time available on the Pistons for a three-point shooting center.