The Detroit Pistons dropped their third of four preseason games Tuesday night to the Thunder, leaving just one more chance to avoid a winless preseason.
During preseason action, I try to look more toward individual player performance as opposed to wins and losses, getting the first in-game look at what players have worked on over the summer and how those sharpened skills may translate to the regular season.
The Pistons’ regular season opener is now a week away, and while we shouldn’t take anything substantial away from preseason action, there are a few pieces that stuck out from Tuesday night’s game that may impact the team heading into the season.
Detroit Pistons: Marvin Bagley III’s injury is not ideal
The story of the night is an unfortunate one. Less than one minute into the game, Bagley slipped on the floor and immediately grabbed his knee, struggling to put any weight on it as he was helped off the floor.
The injury did not look good. Bagley would not return to the game, without a specific update on his knee injury, but we should receive more news soon on the type of injury as well as the significance.
It’s tough not to assume the worst here, and as of right now I’m assuming that the Pistons will be without Bagley’s services for a while. Clearly, this is suboptimal before your season starts, and will cause the Pistons to shuffle around rotations being shorthanded.
If Bagley does miss serious time, this will most likely mean a larger role for rookie center Jalen Duren, hoping to fill the hole Bagley leaves in frontcourt depth. Getting Duren more minutes will be a positive for his development as he gets acclimated to NBA play; however, this is obviously not the way that you want to see minutes open up for anyone.
Bagley’s injury is super unfortunate. It’s horrible to see this for him and we can only hope that the whole season isn’t gone for him. After signing an extension this summer with the Pistons, this year would be Bagley’s first full season with the team, hoping to build upon what he brought after being acquired at the trade deadline.
There’s an argument that Bagley has potential to be a top scorer for the team. Depending on play, 2022-23 could be a career defining season for Bagley, and I truly hope that isn’t thrown out for him before it even starts.
Here’s to a quick and speedy recovery for Marvin.