The Detroit Pistons haven’t had much team success this season, but there has been progress from players like Killian Hayes and Isaiah Stewart, who have both developed on the offensive end.
Killian Hayes still has a long way to go on both ends, as his shooting is still still wildly inconsistent and his alleged “lockdown” defense still has a lot of holes, especially against quicker point guards, as we saw recently against Jose Alvarado.
But the turnaround from the beginning of the season has been remarkable, as he has gone from a guy who looked like a bust to one of the team leaders in an expanded role with Cade Cunningham out for the season.
Hayes is averaging 10 points per game and 5.7 assists (both career highs) on improved shooting splits, though those numbers still need to go up. Those certainly aren’t eye-popping numbers, but if he turns out to be a good backup point guard for the Detroit Pistons that would be a win, especially considering the start to his career and the fact that he was taken outside of the top-5 picks.
He usually makes one or two “wow factor” plays per game and has recently had two passes that are candidates for pass of the year for the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes has passes of the year
The first candidate came in the recent matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. Hayes flashed into the passing lane for the steal and started the fast break. It looked like he might try to take it all the way to the rim, but at the last second threw a nifty behind-the-back pass to rookie Jaden Ivey who capped off the play with the acrobatic finish:
Oh my. Killian Hayes. The steal and behind the back pass to Jaden Ivey… #Pistons pic.twitter.com/v6DPXzaUhX
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) January 14, 2023
The Pistons have been more effective of late when they push in transition, as they’ve been playing small out of necessity and hav been at their best when they are running.
Hayes added another brilliant dime in last night’s loss to the Knicks, as the Detroit Pistons executed what had to be their best in-bounds play in recent memory.
Killian was the in-bounds passer and waited as the play developed and Isaiah Stewart was able to get behind the defense before Hayes hit him with the alley-oop.
OFF THE IN-BOUND😱 pic.twitter.com/J4A6tLcfif
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) January 15, 2023
This pass was about as high-degree-of-difficulty as you can get, given where Hayes was on the court and the fact that he had to thread the pass over 7-footer Mitchell Robinson. Hayes put it in the perfect spot and Beef Stew was able to rise up and finish.
Individual stats and development are about all we have to cheer for these days, so it is nice to see Killian Hayes improving while putting a few plays on the highlight reel.