Positive and negative overreactions to Pistons preseason loss

Killian Hayes will have a spot in the rotation!

Killian Hayes was a big part of the Pistons’ comeback, finishing with 13 points, seven assists and five steals.

Hayes was aggressive going to the hoop and had a couple of nice finishes. He was a menace on defense and showed that he can defend up on the wing, which will be important in his quest to earn minutes.

He looked way more poised than Marcus Sasser and if Hayes continues to defend at that level, he will challenge Monte Morris for the backup point guard role or force head coach Monty Williams to carve out a new one for him.

I especially enjoyed the minutes Killian played with Ausar Thompson, as the two of them have the size to cover a lot of area on the perimeter and Hayes found him on cuts with some nifty passes.

Hayes showed everything you wanted from him last night, and I hope he keeps it up, as I’d love to see him make an impact off the bench and rejuvenate his career.

Cade Cunningham is still inefficient!

After a summer of listening to Cade Cunningham propaganda, I was ready for him to come out and drop a 50-point triple-double in his first game back.

Obviously, I’m kidding, but expectations are high for Cade coming into this season, as the Pistons’ hope of ever being good rests on him becoming a star.

He looked rusty last night, had a hard time getting into the flow of the game, and finished shooting just 5-of-15. The worrying part is that he was leaving everything short at the rim, which has been a problem for him so far his career.

I was hoping his surgically-repaired shin would turn some of those misses into buckets, but he was still leaving everything short.

He did have a stretch in the second half where he was the best player on the floor, so ultimately I am not concerned about Cade, but it would be nice to see him finish more of those bunnies around the rim.