Kevin Huerter didn’t play much for the Pistons in the first month after he was acquired in a deadline trade with Chicago, but he has been showing recently why the team wanted him, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link).
The eighth-year wing made his first start as a Piston on Thursday with Duncan Robinson (right hip soreness) out, and he delivered 22 points (on 9-of-14 shooting), three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 34 minutes, which is by far the most he’s played in a game with Detroit (his previous high was 26).
“Kev’s nice, man,” said Jalen Duren. “Just playing against him over the last few years, I’d seen him as just a shooter. Him being here these last couple of weeks, I see he has a lot more to his game.
“He’s a guy who can, if you run him off the line he can get in the paint, make plays, finish. He’s meshed really well with the guys. Just in the locker room, as a teammate, he’s been really cool. I’m excited, man. I’m excited for what he can bring to the team and continue to grow with him.”
It took a while for Huerter to adjust to the Pistons and it remains to be seen how much he’ll play in the playoffs. But the impending free agent is making a case for a rotation spot, according to Sankofa, who points to Huerter’s decision-making as one area in which he excels.
“That’s my biggest strength,” Huerter said. “Playing offensively, ball moves side to side, I’m able to play off of closeouts and get downhill, find guys and then we have Cade (Cunningham) who’s been out a couple of games. There’s been more of an emphasis on playing side to side and guys using the rotations of defenses to help create things.
“JD’s held it down every game inside. Everybody else seems to be pitching in where they can to fill the gaps.”
Here’s more on the Pistons, who are currently the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 53-20 record:
- In addition to Cunningham (collapsed left lung) and Isaiah Stewart (left calf strain), who are out indefinitely, the Pistons were also playing without Robinson and Caris LeVert (right knee soreness) on Thursday. While the team knows it can’t replace all Cunningham provides offensively, Duren, Huerter and Daniss Daniss Jenkins are among the players who have stepped in his absence, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Duren is averaging 24.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 30.4 minutes per game in the five contests since Cunningham went down with the injury, while Jenkins is putting up 19.8 PPG, 8.0 APG and 3.6 RPG in 37.8 MPG over that same span, Patterson notes.
- Detroit has been thrilled with several aspects of Duren’s development this season, Patterson writes. The 22-year-old center, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, had another huge game on Thursday, contributing 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks in 31 minutes. Seven assists was a new season high and tied a career high. “It’s untapped potential being able to use him as a hub, put the ball in his hands and let him make plays,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The growth he’s shown this year offensively has been through the charts. From reading coverages, reading rotations, being able to make the right read at full speed — he’s just having a phenomenal year and continuing to get better right in front of us.”
- After Thursday’s victory, Duren referred to Ausar Thompson as the “Defensive Player of the Year,” according to Sankofa (Twitter link), while Bickerstaff compared the third-year forward to a player who once won the award. “He reminds me a lot, and it may look a bit different, of how Ron Artest used to be when he would defend,” Bickerstaff said (Twitter link via Patterson). “That type of physicality, the feet, the hands, being able to be so disruptive. … I don’t think there’s many guys who can do what Ausar does.”