The first preseason game of the season for the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks was a tale of two tapes. One team a young team looking to compete, the other a veteran team looking to be firmly within the playoff NBA Eastern Conference playoff race. 

The young Pistons team played hard, but was never quite able to match the defensive intensity and offensive maturity of the Tom Thibodeau coached Knicks.  Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ big free agent signing, had 16 points and five assists. RJ Barrett lead New York with 21 points and 5 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Pistons played a sloppy game with 20 turnovers and 31 fast break points, while giving up 58 points in the paint. 

Rookies Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren proved for at least 1 preseason game that the NBA is not too big for them. Duren finished with a team leading 14 rebounds in 23 minutes, and Ivey 16 points & 4 assists in 22 minutes. Bojan Bogdanovic showed exactly why the Pistons coveted him. Bogdanovic made 3-5 three-pointers in 22 minutes and fit seamlessly with the starting rotation. 

Killian Hayes backed up his media talk of being more aggressive and confident heading into his 3rd season. Hayes scored 11 points and 5 assist in 20 minutes off the bench. He showed no fear heading in the lane. 

 Overall, the Pistons will look to clean up the turnovers, as well as improve overall team defense as the preseason continues.

Next Pistons Game

Detroit Pistons vs the New Orleans Pelicans

Friday, October 7 at 8pm

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