The Detroit Pistons have notched two Summer League wins so far, but some of the good vibes were killed when Jaden Ivey went down with an ankle injury.
Ivey claims he is okay, but his ankle will almost certainly keep him out for the remainder of Summer League, which is a shame, as he had gotten off to an unbelievable start. Thanks Isaiah Todd!
The Pistons already have Summer League wins over the Trail Blazers and Wizards but the next game is really the one everyone had circled on their calendar.
Detroit will take on the Indiana Pacers, but we’ll be denied the matchup we were most looking forward to in Las Vegas.
NBA Summer League: How to watch Detroit Pistons vs. Indiana Pacers
The game tonight will tip off at 9:00 PM ET and you can watch on NBA TV.
Detroit will try to stay undefeated while Indiana will try for their second win in three games.
Jaden Ivey vs. Bennedict Mathurin: Matchup denied
Even though these games are meaningless, fans were looking forward to seeing the first head-to-head matchup between Jaden Ivey and Bennedict Mathurin.
Leading up to the draft, the Pistons were focused on three guys: Keegan Murray, Ivey and Mathurin.
If the Kings had taken Ivey, the Pistons probably would have drafted Murray, but there was a lot of talk about Mathurin being a possibility there as well.
Instead, he fell to the Pacers, who picked right behind Detroit, so the two guards are undoubtedly going to be compared throughout their early careers. Not only did they go 5 and 6 in the draft, but they both play in the same division, so this has a chance to be a really good rivalry.
These two teams used to be two of the fiercest rivals in the NBA, but years of losing sucked the life right out of that. Ivey and Mathurin could help restore that rivalry, as both guys have gotten off to a hot start.
Mathurin scored 15 and 23 points in the two Summer League games so far, and Ivey notched 20 and already had 11 in five minutes before rolling his ankle.
Now we’ll have to wait until the regular season, but this is a head-to-head matchup that we’ll be looking forward to for years to come.