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.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes’ offensive prowess
To move on to a positive for the Pistons, Killian Hayes looked great as a scorer and a facilitator against the Thunder.
Possibly most significant, was Hayes’ 3-point shooting. Hayes was 4-of-6 on the night from three, as well as 8-for-13 from the floor for 20 points on the night.
There has been plenty of talk over the offseason on Hayes’ shot, appearing that Hayes may have made adjustments compared to his shooting form shown last season. If Tuesday night was any indication of those adjustments, so far so good.
The key for Hayes to make an impact this season, and prove himself as a meaningful NBA player moving forward, is his shooting. We’ve seen what Hayes can do as a passer and defender, but his scoring ability has left us all with much to hope for this coming season.
It’s nice to see Hayes appear a bit more confident with his shot, and seeing some of those shots fall for him during the preseason. This is something to keep an eye on throughout the regular season. If Hayes does shoot threes at a higher volume and rate, that will help the Pistons improve their overall 3-point percentage (which was a huge issue last season), and hopefully lead to more wins.
This is a big year for Hayes, hoping to prove himself as a part of the Pistons long term product, and how the shots fall will be a tell-tale sign on what may be to come for his future.
Detroit Pistons: Jalen Duren’s rebounding
Duren grabbed 10 boards on Tuesday night including 7 (!!) on the offensive end of the floor. Coming out of Summer League play, Duren’s rebounding was a bit of a cause for concern and something that the young center would need to work on.
Still being 18 years old, and the youngest person in this year’s draft class, it’s clear that there is still much to come for Duren as he works to develop within the Pistons organization. However, it was nice to see that Duren had a strong game on the glass against the Thunder. Duren also grabbed 14 rebounds in the Pistons first preseason game against the New York Knicks, so it’s been encouraging to see improvement already during his preseason (to note, Duren did not play in the Pistons’ preseason game this past Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans).
Against the Thunder, Duren did find himself in foul trouble, logging three fouls in the first quarter that caused him to leave the floor after he came on early in support of the injured Bagley. Duren did clean up the fouls a bit when he returned to the game, but grabbing the three fouls early is tough to overcome for anyone. Duren finished the game with five fouls. Rookie centers traditionally do have a hard time with foul trouble, which is understandable as they get used to what does and does not get called, and hopefully getting a more favorable whistle as they gain league experience.
Fouls will be something to watch with Duren, especially if he gets more significant minutes in the wake of the Bagley injury. I hope that Duren will be cautious enough throughout the season to avoid finding himself in early foul trouble, as he did on Tuesday night. If fouls become an issue with Duren, a larger role could become minimized quickly, due to the volume of minutes that he’s able to be out on the floor.
The rebounding efficiency shown during the preseason has been great to see out of Duren, and if he can stay active on the offensive glass, he may find himself in more scoring opportunities as well.