Three Takeaways From The Pistons Summer League Opener
The Detroit Pistons got their summer league slate started against the youngsters of the Portland with an 81 to 78 win. Fans had been eagerly awaiting seeing their two lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren representing the 313 and they were not disappointed.
With Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey looking on, the Pistons got the game started with a bang as they won the tip and immediately had Ivey throw a backdoor alley-oop to Jalen Duren.
Detroit kept its foot on the throttle as Duren continued his explosive start with two more dunks. Ivey added a couple of threes, and the two Isaiahs of Stewart and Livers contributed seven and six points respectively to give the Pistons a 41-34 lead at halftime.
Detroit got off to a slow start in the third quarter and relied mainly on Ivey’s scoring to keep pace with the Blazers heading into the fourth quarter. The final quarter got tight as Portland tied the game with 7:58 to go. Then, Isaiah Stewart got hot as he would make two clutch threes on back-to-back possessions. The Pistons ended up putting a bow on it with their No. 5 pick scoring two buckets to close it out. Ivey finished with 20 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds while Detroit’s No. 13 pick Jalen Duren had 9 points, 1 rebound, and 2 blocks.
Here are the three main takeaways from the first of four scheduled games in Sin City.
Jalen Duren And Isaiah Stewart Start Together
In a relatively surprising move, Pistons summer league coach, Jordan Brink started the game with Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren on the court together. “Beef Stew” took the opening tip, but played more of a power forward role the rest of the game as Duren stuck to the paint. With the former Memphis Tiger holding down the interior, Stewart was given the spacing to play more on the perimeter and took four threes, making three crucial ones.
Stewart’s three-point shooting has been a skill the Pistons coaching staff has tried to explore since he was initially drafted in 2020. As evidenced by videos posted to social media, it's become clear that his shooting has become a point of emphasis for the big man’s off-season workouts. Dwane Casey and assistants have said they want him to take more threes and having him play the stretch four would allow him to work on that, as opposed to remaining below the basket.
Perhaps this move is a sneak peek for the regular season as Detroit tries to get both of their young bigs in the starting lineup together.
The Jaden Ivey Show
There had been a clear number one option for the Purdue basketball team the last year and a half in Jaden Ivey. Although his scoring ability looked so natural at the collegiate level with his elite acceleration and athleticism, scouts had wondered if he could carry the load for a pro team. Despite the small sample size, the No. 5 pick for Detroit may have alleviated some of those concerns by scoring eight points in the third quarter on his own and assisting on five of the other 12 points scored in the slow quarter for the Pistons.
The speed of the Boilermaker alum was really something to watch as his athleticism was an obvious translatable skill to the pro level. Ivey’s pace in the transition really set him completely apart from the onset. There were multiple times in the game when the speedster would get the ball at his own free throw line and zoom down the court to set up a quick bucket.
As has been mentioned about him before, his athleticism can be a gift and a curse at times. The 20-year-old got stuck moving too quickly a few moments leading to a loss of his own dribble or unnecessary passes resulting in turnovers. It’s a concern that was discussed prior to the draft and will need to be addressed if Ivey wants to excel in the NBA.
Duren Will Bring Some Excitement To The Motor City
Despite having just one practice with the Pistons summer league team prior to the opener because of the Kemba Walker trade taking time to become official, Jalen Duren set the tone for Detroit from the start. He only played 12 minutes as he was on somewhat of a minutes restriction, but the minutes he did play were full of explosive plays that will have fans excited for the future.
Duren started the game with an alley-oop dunk on the first play of the game. He then added two more dunks in the first half along with two explosive blocks. Each of his blocks looked like volleyball spikes, with one heading into the first row and the other ricocheting off the backboard. He played exactly how he was expected to play — as an athletic freak that will become a mainstay on highlight pages — but to see it this soon has to be a surprise to most.
It’ll be interesting to see how Duren plays the rest of the summer league as he gets more familiar with the team. One could only expect him to get even better as he starts to understand the system even more.
Next up for Detroit will be the Washington Wizards on Saturday, July 9 at 6 pm EST on ESPN2.
