The Detroit Pistons have had to make things happen at the center position. Jalen Duren has been out since the second game of the season. They rolled with Paul Reed as the starter for a while, but in the last two games, they’ve gone with John Collins. It was alright in the first game, but on Thursday, Reed resurfaced as the better option.
On Thursday night, the Pistons scraped together a double-overtime win over the Washington Wizards. Cade Cunningham’s historic performance led the charge, and Ausar Thompson’s triple-double was impressive, but hidden amongst those insane performances was Reed’s impact. He was better than Collins. He was the most important big man.
Reed is super important to everything the Pistons want to accomplish, and that much was made clear on Thursday night.
Paul Reed is still vital to the Pistons' success
Collins got his second straight start on Thursday. Unfortunately, it didn’t go nearly as well as his first start, and it would take just one look at the box score to realize that.
He finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, and one block, shooting just 3-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. However, the most notable stat was the plus/minus.
By the end of the game, Collins was at -18. Not only was that the worst mark on the Pistons, but it was also one of only two negative numbers on the night (Ron Holland II was the other at -8, and he only played 13:47 to Collins’ 25:14).
Meanwhile, Reed came off the bench and played 37:44. He was integral to the Pistons’ success the entire night. He put up 13 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists, snagging five offensive boards in the process. He shot 5-of-9 from the field and 0-of-1 from distance.
And most importantly, Reed was at +25 for the night. That was the best mark on the Pistons by far. The next-best was Kevin Huerter at +10. Somehow, Reed was +25 in that many minutes in a game the Pistons only won by four points.
It was an impressive showing. He held things down at the five spot for the Pistons, just as he should. And it’s never been clearer how important he is to Detroit’s success.
Even in the midst of JB Bickerstaff’s experiment with Collins in the starting lineup, Reed has resurfaced as the clear No. 1 center option with Duren sidelined. His performance against the Wizards was crucial.
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