For their entry into the 2022-23 NBA season, the Detroit Pistons won in money time against the Orlando Magic, 113-109. Well helped by Cade Cunningham and Bojan Bogdanović, the just drafted Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren stood out.
THE STATS OF THIS FRIENDLY MATCH BETWEEN U23 ARE HERE
We entered this match with one thing in mind: the duel between Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero, the last two number one picks. Finally, the Magic rookie was sparkling but felt very alone, while Cunningham was more discreet but was able to count on his young teammates to make the difference.
The Pistons are currently building their team through the draft, and this year’s team was shaping up to be particularly successful. Spolier, it’s already validated. Jaden Iveyselected in 5th position, was perhaps the most anticipated and it did not disappoint. 19 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in 32 minutes, we have known worse as a start in the big league. Beyond the statline, he showed that we could count on him, especially at the start of the match when Cade Cunningham had trouble waking up and found himself on the bench because of quick faults. Jalen Duren he was picked in thirteenth place for his defense and his physical qualities, and we found all that this evening with in addition a good offensive quality: 14 points at 7/13 in shooting, 10 rebounds and therefore a nice double-double for his first career game. And as a bonus, a little poster on Bol Bol.
.@JalenDuren adding to his poster collection???????? pic.twitter.com/qs6LXthYlS
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 20, 2022
And tonight, as much to say that the youngsters did well to get out of their box. After a few minutes of play the Pistons are behind and Dwane Casey takes a time-out, we take the opportunity to stretch our legs, have a little coffee, we come back and boom, the League Pass no longer works. We’re starting to get used to it, but that doesn’t make us happy. Finally the signal comes back and now the Magic have a 15-point lead in the first quarter. Paolo Banchero showed himself from the start and until the end : 27 points (best total for the first career game of a draft number one since a certain LeBron James), 9 rebounds and 5 assists, the guy is not here to laugh but to be Rookie of The Year. Unfortunately for him that wasn’t enough, the Pistons came back little by little and put a final push in the money time, thanks in particular to Bojan Bogdanović and his 6/10 behind the arc. Even our Frenchie Killian Hayes allowed himself a counter on Mo Bamba, that’s telling you. In the end, it gives a great 113-109 victory for the Pistons and, above all, great aerial prospects with the new favorite duo of your favorite duo.
The Detroit Pistons did not seem to have understood the instruction well: we must lose as many games as possible this season. While it was off to a good start after a very bad first quarter, they ended up going up against a direct opponent in the race for Victor Wembanyama. But after all, we can’t blame these young people for giving their all.