The Detroit Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics last night, their second loss in a row overall, which dropped them to just 14-41 on the season.
The Pistons currently have the second-worst record in the league, just a half game ahead of Houston and a half game behind San Antonio.
This has been a developmental year for Detroit, with players like Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes and Saddiq Bey not only working on their games, but trying to figure out their ultimate roles with this team.
Coach Casey may have given us an indication of how they are going to use Saddiq Bey last night after the game, when he had this to say about Bey’s future with the Detroit Pistons:
"“He’s found a rhythm and a niche with the second unit,” Casey said. “Once we are ready to play for playoff positioning and championships, I feel like that’s going to be his role with us.”"
It was interesting to hear coach Casey say this, especially the part about playoff positioning and championships, as there is a portion of the fanbase who doesn’t think coach Casey will still be around by the time the Pistons are actually good.
Bey was just 5-of-15 last night for 14 points, but he did add six rebounds and four assists as part of the bench unit that helped bring the Pistons back late. So is Bey’s future with the Pistons as a bench player?
Detroit Pistons: Saddiq Bey off the bench
Saddiq Bey has started 30 games this season and put up 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per game. He has shot 41 percent from the field overall and just 32.7 percent from 3-point range on 5.7 attempts.
His bench numbers aren’t much different, as he is getting 14 points, four rebounds, 1.9 assists in 26.4 minutes per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from long range on the same number of attempts.
It might be overblown to say Bey has “found a rhythm and a niche” off the bench, but he has been more efficient from long range. There’s also the issue of fit with the first unit, as he and Bojan Bogdanovic have a hard time sharing the floor together due to the similarities in their games and their defensive limitations.
Talks of trading Bey at the deadline have cooled, and they should, as he has shown that he can at least be a good role player, especially if he embraces this bench role and gets back to being a high-volume 3-point shooter.
Bey has been back and forth from the bench to the starting lineup due to injuries, but it appears that they will use him in this bench role for the foreseeable future. It will be interesting to see how this affects Bey’s future contract negotiations, as he is extension eligible this offseason.