Detroit Pistons’ Malachi Flynn Struggles After 50-Point Outburst

Malachi Flynn was the star of the NBA on Wednesday night, as the Detroit Pistons trotted him off the bench for 34 minutes against the Atlanta Hawks.

While Flynn has had some impressive shooting outings since he joined the Pistons back in February, his performance against the Hawks was nothing short of spectacular.

As he had it going, Flynn attempted 25 shots for the Pistons. He was highly-efficient, making 72 percent of his attempts. Five of those makes were from beyond the arc.

It was a career-best outing for Flynn, who put up 50 points. Along with his scoring, Flynn came down with six rebounds, while snatching three steals. While his contributions didn’t help the Pistons climb out of their losing streak, he gave the team something positive to talk about after the eight-point loss.

Considering Flynn isn’t a primary scorer for the Pistons, his follow-up showings had NBA fans intrigued. How would he respond to the 50-point outburst? Unfortunately, he’s gone ice-cold.

Against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, Flynn resumed his usual role off the bench. He spent nearly 23 minutes on the court. During that time, Flynn attempted to establish a groove, but he struggled mightily.

The young veteran failed to register a make on any of his 12 shots. His three points came from the charity stripe, where he made 75 percent of his attempts. While Flynn had a solid passing outing, dishing out six assists to two turnovers, his lack of scoring didn’t help the Pistons amidst their 18-point loss to Memphis.

Detroit didn’t have much time for rest. After the loss on the road in Memphis, the Pistons traveled to New York to take on the Brooklyn Nets. Flynn checked in for a little under 15 minutes in that matchup. He put up seven shots from the field during his shift, and hit on just one of his attempts. For the second-straight game, Flynn scored three points.

Since his miraculous 50-point outing, Flynn has made just one of his 19 shots from the field. Following-up a 50-point outing was always going to be tough a player in a reserve role, and unfortunately, Flynn’s shot went cold at the wrong time.

On a brighter note, the veteran has been a solid addition for the Pistons overall. Since getting traded to Detroit from the New York Knicks, Flynn appeared in 20 games. With the Pistons he averaged 42 percent from the field on nearly seven attempts per game. This season, he is averaging eight points, two rebounds, and two assists.