The Detroit Pistons are winless after their first three games and a lot of the talk has been around Killian Hayes.
Hayes only made one shot in the first two games, so it makes sense, as fans are eager to see the number seven pick make some progress.
So much so that some have suggested sending Killian Hayes to the G-League, which seems like a pretty huge overreaction after just three games, especially when the rest of the team hasn’t played well either.
Other than Saddiq Bey, nearly the entire Pistons’ roster has been bad, especially the guards, as the Pistons have gotten next to nothing from Hayes, Frank Jackson, Hamidou Diallo or Saben Lee.
But I’d expect young players to struggle to start a season, what I didn’t expect was for veteran Cory Joseph to be even worse.
Detroit Pistons: Cory Joseph and Killian Hayes need to step up
When your young guys are struggling to start a season, teams generally rely on veterans to pick up the slack, which was Cory Joseph’s stated role this season.
We know Joseph is not a superstar, and he’s not expected to be, but he is expected to be a solid veteran presence who offers consistent performance. Oops.
So far in the first three games, Joseph has been even worse than Hayes, including last night, when Joesph missed all of his shots and was an impressive -17 in just 16 minutes on the floor.
So far this season Joseph is averaging 2.7 points per game while shooting 16 percent from the field and 12 percent from long range.
This makes Hayes look like an All-Star in comparison, so it may be time for coach Casey to shake things up and get someone in there who can make a positive impact.
The Detroit Pistons are playing poorly anyway, so why not get Saben Lee in there to see what he can do? If the Pistons are going to be bad this season I hope they at least do it while getting their young players developmental minutes.
Cory Joseph will eventually play better and help this team, but until then, let’s see what Lee can do, as at least his minutes serve a positive cause.
It’s been an ugly start to the season, especially for Cory Joseph, who right now is playing like a guy who shouldn’t be getting minutes at all.