After Killian Hayes put up a season-high 25 points on Wednesday, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic says it’s no longer surprising when the Pistons guard has a big night, adding that it’s time to consider him “a good, solid NBA player.”
Hayes had a couple up-and-down seasons after being selected seventh overall in the 2020 draft, but is still just 21 years old and has been playing the best basketball of his NBA career this fall. Since entering the Pistons’ starting lineup on November 12, Hayes has averaged 11.8 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 3.2 RPG on .424/.400/.733 shooting in 17 games (28.6 MPG).
“He’s not growing on anyone else’s watch. He’s going at his pace, his speed,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey recently said. “That’s what young players do. Everyone wants him to be that 10-year vet, but, what, he’s in year three? That’s why it’s not surprising me. We just have to be patient. Unfortunately, this league isn’t full of patience. It’s about winning games. But he is growing right before our eyes.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Isaiah Stewart‘s willingness to shift from center to power forward has put him in position to be part of the Pistons‘ frontcourt of the future alongside center Jalen Duren, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “They’re going to grow together,” Casey said of the duo on Wednesday. “They’re going to be together for a long time, so they better like each other. If they don’t, they’re going to be in big trouble because they’re going to be with the organization a long time.”
- Bob Kravitz of The Athletic profiles Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin, who says he feels like he has “no choice but to be great” due to his desire to provide for his family and influence kids in his hometown of Montreal. The No. 6 overall pick is off to a good start in his quest to become a star, having averaged 17.8 points in his first 29 NBA games.
- After his Cavaliers got a win in Dallas on Wednesday, Donovan Mitchell reflected on the role the Mavericks played in his current circumstances, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). The Mavs’ first-round elimination of the Jazz in last season’s postseason taught Mitchell some important lessons and hastened his Utah exit. “At the end of the day, they’re kind of the reason why I’m in Cleveland,” Mitchell said. “They did a great job in the playoff series. So, I’m thankful. I’m here. I’m glad to be here. Last year made me a better player. You take those lessons, you learn, and you implement them.”
- With Lonzo Ball‘s availability for this season still up in the air, the Bulls should be trying to find a way to add a proven point guard to their roster, argues Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
“off to a good start” = obvious understatement. I got a pretty strong feeling that Mathurin is definitely not gonna be 1 of the medias favs… link to m.youtube.com
Donovan Mitchell is an extremely talented young basketball player. Lots of different aspects to his game.
One issue is when the other team knows what you’re going to do every time down the court, it negates a lot of those skills.
That’s what happened in the first round last season.
The Jazz were a very good offensive team when they moved the ball around.
Terance Mann is moreso the reason Spida is Cleveland. Jazz were mentally broken the prior postseason when they went in as the #1 team in the league & ended up getting eliminated by a Clippers team without Kawhi bc they couldn’t contain ACC legend TMann. That was the best team Utah has had since Mailman/Stockton era.. link to m.youtube.com
Nah, I’d go with the 2006-07 squad. Led by D. Will, AK-47 and Boozer they went to the WCF before losing to the eventual champion Spurs.
That was a good squad but the Spida/Rudy team is definitely better than them. Like I said they were the #1 team in the league throughout that season. Rudy was DPOY, Spida was the best player on either 1 of those teams. Main reason that 07 team made it to the WCF was bc they got to play the 8seed in the 2nd rd after Dallas got upset by the we believe Dubs.
Hayes has a good opportunity to show up. With Cade out for season. He should take full advantage. Killian is a 2way talent at PG. And he’s got good size. Still has plenty of upside. Rooting for you Kid.