PISTONS 115
We allowed three 30+ point Qs, not having any of our own. And that's game.
When we weren't scoring in the 1ST Q, we weren't defending either.
Things to work on: contesting the 3 - we kept getting to those shots late. Lonnie was assertive on O which was great to see, but he trotted to contest some 3s as well. Sure the result was albeit a formality, but habits now are habits later.
Thad with non-floor stretching bigs is an issue. He played 22 minutes, made 2-3 (1-1 from 3) for 5 points, 8 rebounds (2 on O) and 3 assists. A worker, but the chemistry/rhythm needs work with guys who know our system better.
Aminu was actually a serviceable 2-2 (1-1 from 3), and had active hands but the feet didn't follow.
I think Pop was just trying to see how they'd fit in the various line-ups we had them (especially Thad) in.
Derrick's running of the team as lead PG was frankly disappointing. When he misses, he misses a lot, and tonight was one of those games. He, Keldon, Lonnie, Devin and Bryn all shot in double digits, but the starting line-up made only 2-18 from 3. OOOOOOF.
Primo 0-3. Welcome to the NBA, rook!
Btu to his credit, he immediately impacted the game in how he ran the team. He has a settling presence calling for screens, setting up P&Rs, taking his man down 1-on-1. He was clearly told to get the ball to Luka and he did just that.
Luka as I've mentioned before did well in his focused task - be assertive and score. Done and done.
Keldon has shown some nice skills he's added to his toolkit: a pretty Euro step, a jump stop in the key, a nice finish inside with his left hand. He struggled from the outside and so made an effort to go inside. That he's not just barreling through opponents is a nice bonus.
Lonnie started hot but then just... fell off again. He's made some strides with ball handling and finishing, but Jesus, some shot selection and execution still has a gap. He sure talks a lot on social media about taking things to the next level, how the players have heard the disrespect. Devin, too, that they're going to surprise a whole lot of people.
Well best to get the dose of reality now as to where we are in practice and what we need to do to translate that in games.
Two final thoughts: we're a different team when we have a capable floor general at PG. DJ has done well, Primo as well. Derrick's struggled. We'll be better with Tre who shined in SL.
SGs - perhaps Derrick going back and forth between PG and SG is messing with his rhythm. Perhaps it's just him needing more time. But it's clear that consistency will be key for him.
Lonnie has shown some more growth in his game, but consistent hustle effort on both ends - not disappearing on O and getting after it on every play on D...
Devin's a work in progress. You can see he wants to shine, but it's not yet translating.
Finally, our bigs are bigger and there are more of them, but we got pushed around a lot tonight giving up a ton of points inside. Part of that is perimeter D allowing the penetration, but also just their physicality was too much. When Jock came in he made an immediate impact on O boards and putbacks, but Luka got bodied a couple of times on D boards and then just allowed a second attempt. Same with Drew, surprisingly.
Our help D wasn't on point tonight. Something I'm sure we'll get better at.
Some good runs, but this game was a reality check in that we're not quite where our post-practice proclamations declared we were. Well we are when certain guys run the team, but in needing to have others step, up, it's a work in progress.
