FAST BREAKDOWN
Three quick observations from Sunday night’s 76-72 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Thomas & Mack Center
CADE & KILLIAN – The two youngest Pistons are likely to have the ball in their hands a majority of the time – during the regular season as well as Summer League – so it was interesting that for one game, at least, the Pistons chose to play the two together exclusively in the first half and for good chunks of their minutes in the second half. The start was sublime, the Pistons streaking to a 26-11 lead behind Hayes’ passing and Cunningham draining his first two shots, both triples. It didn’t go that way very often the rest of the way, the Pistons struggling to a 12-point second quarter and losing their Summer League opener to Oklahoma City. Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in last month’s draft, finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two assists. After making his first two triples, Cunningham missed his next five including one with about 40 seconds left and the Pistons trailing by four. Cunningham could have had another handful of assists, several to Tyler Cook, but many of their connections wound up in fumbles or slightly mistimed hookups. Hayes picked up four assists in the first five minutes before he and Cunningham headed to the bench and finished with six points, nine rebounds and five assists. He got to the foul line, something that didn’t happen often in his rookie season, to attempt four free throws.
BEY’S PROGRESS – Saddiq Bey looked like a guy who logged nearly 2,000 minutes during his NBA rookie season, standing out with his poise and physical presence. He started along with fellow 2020-21 rookie Killian Hayes, No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, Tyler Cook and Sekou Doumbouya. Bey – who, along with the third 2020 draft’s first-round Pistons pick, Isaiah Stewart, was in Las Vegas last month with USA Basketball’s Select Team – finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dwane Casey is looking for Bey to become more of a threat in areas other than 3-point shooting going forward and it was evident Bey was looking to apply his summer concentration on those areas. After taking two-thirds of his shots as a rookie from the 3-point line, Bey took only four of his 13 shots from three in his Summer League debut. Saben Lee, the fourth rookie draft choice from last season’s Pistons roster, finished with nine points and two assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Lee hit 1 of 4 from the 3-point arc.
GARZA’S DEBUT – The second of three Pistons second-round picks last month, Luka Garza didn’t take long to leave an impression when he entered the game midway through the first quarter. He drained a triple from the top of the arc, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored and drew a foul in the post in his opening few minutes. The consensus national Player of the Year, Garza finished with nine points and four rebounds in 13 minutes. Garza’s rebounds all came at the offensive end and he converted two of them into put-back baskets. The two other second-round picks, Isaiah Livers and Balsa Koprivica, were not in uniform – Livers will be out until October or November recovering from foot surgery and Koprivica was only cleared to join the roster with the Friday completion of the draft-day trade with Charlotte that sent Mason Plumlee to the Hornets. Also present but not in uniform were Isaiah Stewart, out with an ankle injury, and Deividas Sirvydis.
Fast start in Cunningham’s debut before Pistons drop Summer League opener - Pistons.com
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