Rookie Play, Highlights & Discussion

[Han Solo]

Hayes looked great last night. Got the best of Haliburton too. That had to feel good.

His game has really come along. He adjusted to the speed of the NBA. On offense, he’s learned his floater is his best tool at the moment. His dribble has improved since before being hurt. He can get anywhere he wants when penetrating. His step back three is nice. He is hands down the best passing guard out of the rookies.

He is a pure point guard and by the end of the year, he will have shown enough that I think NBA fans will believe in him.

He has a really pretty game right now. He’s a good defender too. Funny thing is - most NBA fans have defended him when people were calling him a bust after 7 games. It’s actually been a handful of Pistons fans throwing that out there. Pretty shameful to be honest.

You’d think the fans would support their 19 year old rookie, instead of turning on him after 2 weeks to start the year.

I was proud of him last night. Also, super excited about his future. He is really good

Think you might be forgetting about Ball...

I did. Regardless, Hayes can pass the rock too. His passes look different. Most of the time the receiver doesn’t even realize they are coming.

[Capn'O]

He has a really pretty game right now. He’s a good defender too. Funny thing is - most NBA fans have defended him when people were calling him a bust after 7 games. It’s actually been a handful of Pistons fans throwing that out there. Pretty shameful to be honest.

You’d think the fans would support their 19 year old rookie, instead of turning on him after 2 weeks to start the year.

I was proud of him last night. Also, super excited about his future. He is really good

Knicks fans are as well for whatever reason. He was my preferred pick and I'm still a little salty. Kid is going to be at least a solid starter.

[MotownMadness]

Stewart has been a great pick up for us as well. Just always productive especially starting now with Plumlee out

Watch on YouTube

[tmorgan]

Stewart really is a beast of a man. Pistons had a nice draft. 4 rotation players and maybe 3 starters.

And yeah, I realize being a starter on a bad team isn’t exactly the same, but I’m pretty sure these aren’t bum starters. Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, and Isaiah Stewart look legit long term. The 4th is Saben Lee, btw.

[BugginOut]

Watch on YouTube

Quickley with a nice bounce back performance after hitting the rookie wall for a couple games

[HeartBreakKid]

I think it should still go to Ball. He was the best rookie by a good head prior to his injury.

Haliburton seems pretty comparable. Ball has slightly better production but Haliburton is a lot more efficient and he doesn't turn the ball over.

[Quentin]

Edwards putting up great numbers. I guess it's expected of him now so no mention. With DLo back, you can already see how he takes the ball out of Edwards hands though. Not sure how that's going to work.

[Duffman100]

Obviously not rookie of the year, but Malachi Flynn is starting to look good with extended minutes.

20, 11, 2 and 2 tonight on 8 of 14.

[DroseReturnChi]

Obviously not rookie of the year, but Malachi Flynn is starting to look good with extended minutes.

20, 11, 2 and 2 tonight on 8 of 14.

im shocked why he cannot be roy when he destroyed lamelo's soul in that one game I called him a bust.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Edwards putting up great numbers. I guess it's expected of him now so no mention. With DLo back, you can already see how he takes the ball out of Edwards hands though. Not sure how that's going to work.

Edwards shot above 50% only TWICE in his first 47 games.

He's shot above 50% FOUR times in his past 7 games. Hopefully, that's not just a fluke or coincidence.

Maybe it'll be a good thing to not overwhelm the kid with too much responsibility and he can play off Towns/Russell and be more efficient.

[Colbinii]

Edwards putting up great numbers. I guess it's expected of him now so no mention. With DLo back, you can already see how he takes the ball out of Edwards hands though. Not sure how that's going to work.

Edwards shot above 50% only TWICE in his first 47 games.

He's shot above 50% FOUR times in his past 7 games. Hopefully, that's not just a fluke or coincidence.

Maybe it'll be a good thing to not overwhelm the kid with too much responsibility and he can play off Towns/Russell and be more efficient.

I think it is a good idea to completely ignore the numbers of rookies and focus on film study with them--looking at ways they improve throughout the season to get a feel for what they can become.

With Edwards there are a couple positives to look at. First, his ability to facilitate in a way of making baskets easy for his teammates is starting to show as he becomes more comfortable. He had a great play last night where he got past his guy in the pick and roll, went up like he was going to shoot a 12 foot floater and mid-air made a beautiful pass to the roll man, Naz Reid, who finished an easy And-1 due to the pass of Edwards.

Second, Edwards uses his body terrifically to fend off defenders once he gets a step on them. He has excellent body control and finishing ability through traffic.

His shot selection is an issue but the team is deprived of spacing. Rubio and Okogie are big-minutes guys who do not space the floor in any meaningful way. If we can see Edwards in line-ups and with a roster with adequate spacing I expect things to really open up for him.

I dont want to compare his playmaking to Ball (Its not comparable) but look at the difference. The Hornets had 3 players >40% from 3 and then Graham, Washington and Bridges all above average 3 point shooters. That's 6 good to elite floor spacers, and in today's NBA game spacing is the name of the game.

[Domejandro]

[Buzzard]

Okongwu had a so so game last night and only played 12:27 minutes. But for the month of April and the 7 games Collins has been out he is averaging:

8.1/6.1/ and .87 Blocks per game in 17.5 minutes per game. I did not do the per 36 minute math but it looks to be around 16.3/12.3/ and 1.8 blocks.

From my point of view he is starting to show signs of what made him the 6th pick in the 2020 draft. Equally important, he did not turn 20 until this past December.

[Trey24]

Okongwu had a so so game last night and only played 12:27 minutes. But for the month of April and the 7 games Collins has been out he is averaging:

8.1/6.1/ and .87 Blocks per game in 17.5 minutes per game. I did not do the per 36 minute math but it looks to be around 16.3/12.3/ and 1.8 blocks.

From my point of view he is starting to show signs of what made him the 6th pick in the 2020 draft. Equally important, he did not turn 20 until this past December.

If there was 1 team on earth he should have excelled against, it was yesterday's Hornets.

I thought he looked solid but not mesmerizing, which has really been the summation of his short rookie year thus far.

[Buzzard]

Okongwu had a so so game last night and only played 12:27 minutes. But for the month of April and the 7 games Collins has been out he is averaging:

8.1/6.1/ and .87 Blocks per game in 17.5 minutes per game. I did not do the per 36 minute math but it looks to be around 16.3/12.3/ and 1.8 blocks.

From my point of view he is starting to show signs of what made him the 6th pick in the 2020 draft. Equally important, he did not turn 20 until this past December.

If there was 1 team on earth he should have excelled against, it was yesterday's Hornets.

I thought he looked solid but not mesmerizing, which has really been the summation of his short rookie year thus far.

With Trae, Collins, Hunter, Gallinari and Snell out, McMillan went heavy with his vets. Huerter over 32, Capela got almost 35 minutes, Goodwin and Hill logged over 37, Bogdon over 40, Lou got almost 29.

Every player I listed got well over their season averages. I think its to be expected with those three starters plus Gallinari and Snell being out. In all honesty, I think the 12.5 minutes Okongwu got last night was about the maximum if the Hawks wanted any chance to win.

[Trey24]

Okongwu had a so so game last night and only played 12:27 minutes. But for the month of April and the 7 games Collins has been out he is averaging:

8.1/6.1/ and .87 Blocks per game in 17.5 minutes per game. I did not do the per 36 minute math but it looks to be around 16.3/12.3/ and 1.8 blocks.

From my point of view he is starting to show signs of what made him the 6th pick in the 2020 draft. Equally important, he did not turn 20 until this past December.

If there was 1 team on earth he should have excelled against, it was yesterday's Hornets.

I thought he looked solid but not mesmerizing, which has really been the summation of his short rookie year thus far.

With Trae, Collins, Hunter, Gallinari and Snell out, McMillan went heavy with his vets. Huerter over 32, Capela got almost 35 minutes, Goodwin and Hill logged over 37, Bogdon over 40, Lou got almost 29.

Every player I listed got well over their season averages. I think its to be expected with those three starters plus Gallinari and Snell being out. In all honesty, I think the 12.5 minutes Okongwu got last night was about the maximum if the Hawks wanted any chance to win.

Spot on response. I agree. I have enjoyed watching him play and he definitely has a good amount of upside, but also, he isn't as far along as we were made to believe in the weeks leading up to the draft. I am not worried about that though because he was dealing with an injury to start the year.

I like him though, solid pick for the Hawks for sure and should develop well.

[Buzzard]

If there was 1 team on earth he should have excelled against, it was yesterday's Hornets.

I thought he looked solid but not mesmerizing, which has really been the summation of his short rookie year thus far.

With Trae, Collins, Hunter, Gallinari and Snell out, McMillan went heavy with his vets. Huerter over 32, Capela got almost 35 minutes, Goodwin and Hill logged over 37, Bogdon over 40, Lou got almost 29.

Every player I listed got well over their season averages. I think its to be expected with those three starters plus Gallinari and Snell being out. In all honesty, I think the 12.5 minutes Okongwu got last night was about the maximum if the Hawks wanted any chance to win.

Spot on response. I agree. I have enjoyed watching him play and he definitely has a good amount of upside, but also, he isn't as far along as we were made to believe in the weeks leading up to the draft. I am not worried about that though because he was dealing with an injury to start the year.

I like him though, solid pick for the Hawks for sure and should develop well.

Edit:
My understanding was him being one of the youngest players taken in the top 10, he was seen as a defensive minded 4/5 who shot free throws decently. With all that being said he has no outside game to speak of and needs time to develop. Weight and strength are also some things he needs to improve on.

I think he went to a perfect situation being behind Capela and Collins. Both of those players have certain skills he can hopefully pick up on.

[zeebneeb]

Its always a good year when there are multiple rookies playing well, and meeting or exceeding expectations. For Piston fans it's been(so far)one of the best years ever for the teams picks.

What's your guess at Edwards final PPG for the year?

[Quentin]

Its always a good year when there are multiple rookies playing well, and meeting or exceeding expectations. For Piston fans it's been(so far)one of the best years ever for the teams picks.

What's your guess at Edwards final PPG for the year?

Probably going down now that DLo is back.

[Big J]

Edwards has gotta be the favorite at this point.