Detroit Pistons: Saddiq Bey lowlight shows big hole in his game

Many fans of the Detroit Pistons have turned on Saddiq Bey this season, as he has not made the progress we’d hoped for in his third season in the league.

It has led to his name popping up in trade rumors, though the Pistons should be cautious about giving up on a guy who has shown big-time potential at times in his short career.

When you consider his size, ability to get a bucket and his blue-collar work ethic, he’s not the kind of player you just give up on, especially when he has been thrust into a bigger role on offense this season that doesn’t suit him.

He hasn’t shot as many 3-pointers this season, dribbles too much at times and has limitations on defense, but there are signs that he is at least getting back to form on the offensive end. In his last 10 games, Bey has shot over 38 percent from 3-point range on 6.5 attempts per game and if you go out even further, he’s shooting 40 percent from three over his last 20 games. If he can do that over the course of a season, Bey is a guy who could have a long career with the Detroit Pistons.

Once Cade Cunningham is back, Bey should return to being more of a catch-and-shoot volume 3-point guy, which is where he is most valuable.

Most would agree that Saddiq Bey needs to drive less, and either take the shot off the catch or keep it moving, and the numbers support this theory. But when Bey does drive, he has to be better at finding teammates, as he can be a black hole who misses opportunities, which we saw in a recent lowlight.

Detroit Pistons: Saddiq Bey on the drive

Saddiq Bey took a lot of heat for a particular play in the loss to Dallas, one which illustrated a problem he’s had all season. In this clip, Bey gets the ball and it looks as if an extra pass would have gotten Alec Burks an open 3-point attempt. Bey neglects to make the extra pass (and you can see Burks’ frustration) and elects to drive to the rim instead.

After drawing the defenders, Bey has Jalen Duren left wide open for a dump-off and a dunk and instead takes a wild, contested shot that had little chance of going in. Since this was at a crucial point in the game, Bey became the villain in the loss:

Whether you want to call this selfish or just bone-headed, it’s a play that Bey makes more often than not off the bounce.

Bey is shooting 46 percent on drives this season, which isn’t horrible, but isn’t great, but where he really struggles is passing out of these situations. Bey only passes on drives 22 percent of the time, which is second-lowest on the team behind Hamidou Diallo, who is usually looking for a rim-rattling dunk when he drives.

I’d be happy if Bey didn’t drive at all, though he can use his strength at times to get closer to the rim, but when he does, he has to be more of a willing passer, as he is missing opportunities to set up teammates on these types of plays.

Even though Bey is handling the ball more with Cade Cunningham out, he is averaging fewer assists this season, which is why he is gaining the reputation as a black hole on offense, the ball entering his hands never to be seen again.

He has to make that extra pass to set up the shooter when he doesn’t have an open look, and when he drives, he needs to keep his head up and be ready to pass it off, especially when you have a big-time rim finisher like Duren waiting fo the dunk.