Hamidou Diallo’s breakout game overshadowed by fight

Midway through last season, the Detroit Pistons traded for high-flying guard/forward Hamidou Diallo, and it looked like the fresh face would bring some punch to a lineup that could use some excitement. I thought he could be a darkhorse candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, but this season he ranks 11th on the roster in total minutes played.

He’s spent most of this young season on the fringes of the rotation which was surprising given that the Pistons seemed excited for a breakout year. He has not been given an opportunity to show off so far.

Diallo has shown he has some differences with head coach Dwane Casey, getting into at least one public argument with his coach on the bench, and presumably, many more in the locker room, based on his five DNPs so far.

Hamidou Diallo has breakout night vs. the Lakers

On Sunday night, the Pistons lost yet again, this time to the Los Angeles Lakers. Jerami Grant scored 36 points, Cade Cunningham recorded his first triple-double, and you may have heard about the fight between LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart. You may have missed some important gameplay, including the fact that Diallo had by far his best game of the season.

In his first outing of 20 or more minutes, Hamidou Diallo scored a season-high 17 points, grabbed a season-high six rebounds, had a season-high two steals on all-around good defense, and only turned the ball over once and had one foul. Granted, his one turnover came on a possible game-tying play with three seconds left, but the Pistons blew a huge lead and lost the fourth quarter 17-37, so the turnover was a culmination of a lot of bad play.

Diallo’s breakout game on Sunday comes after another solid performance on November 19th, a loss to Golden State. In that game, Diallo had ten points, got to the line plenty, and was a pest on the defensive end. He only played 13 minutes that game, but in recent games where he gets the ball, he’s shown he’s a crafty scorer who uses his athleticism to get to the hoop.

It should be noted that defenders are aware of his leaping ability and guard him as a dunk threat, but at 23 years old he has the smarts to go under when opponents expect him to go over, and he has a very crafty layup package. He has shown a lack of confidence when it comes to shooting the three-ball, although he has been scoring without it. Hopefully, he’ll become a three-level scorer soon and be the complete package off the bench.

It seems like Diallo will get more playing time in future games. His on-court success shows he can be the guy off the bench, but his arguments with Coach Casey need to stop. Well, luckily there’s evidence to suggest the hatchet has been buried. After the game, he did have some praise for the coaching staff, despite a tough loss:

"“It was a tough one, we gave up a tough lead, but the coaching was there and the energy was there. We just need to figure out how to string that along for the whole 48, pretty much.”-Diallo in a postgame interview via Bally Sports Detroit"

17 points on excellent shooting off the bench is nothing to pass up, so if Diallo can keep playing with grit and confidence he could be a key player on the team for years to come.