In a franchise still struggling, last in the Eastern Conference with now 56 defeats and a full infirmary, between the packages of Bojan Bogdanovic (Achilles tendon), Hamidou Diallo (ankle), Isaiah Stewart (hip) and still Cade Cunningham (tibia )… Killian Hayes continues to attract the attention of French observers to the matches in Detroit.
Defeated by Miami on Sunday night (100-112), the Pistons give the 21-year-old leader a lot of playing time. In almost 38 minutes spent on the floor, he made a double-double with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists (best passer of the game) against the Heat. He thus signed his 5th consecutive game with more than ten points and the 6th with more than 5 assists.
With a little less playing time, but more pleasing collective performances, another young Frenchman, Ousmane Dieng (19), played Sunday night. In 7 minutes, he only had time to grab a rebound but his franchise, Oklahoma City, won against the Suns (124-120) and thus remains in the play-in race in the West.
In line with his last six matches – where he has each played less than 20 minutes – the much more experienced Nicolas Batum (34) spent 16 minutes on the Portland floor. A good move to gain confidence since the Blazers were already on a series of 5 losses before the reception of the Clippers. With 3 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists, we cannot say that he is among the main architects of the victory (117-102), but he is still in the rotation of a team that works well (5th in the Western Conference).
