We saw him gaining momentum over the matches, but he lacked a reference match. Tonight, Killian Hayes Signs his best career game in a superb victory for the Pistons against the Mavericks. The kind of success that puts the public in your pocket after overtime, and the Frenchman is not far from the perfect match with his 22 points on 10 of 13 on shots, 8 assists and 4 rebounds.
Of course, Bojan Bogdanovic finished as the match’s top scorer, and he’s a crazy skill, but the boss last night was Killian Hayes, and it’s Dwane Casey who best sums up his performance.
“He’s our best creator, he’s our best playmaker, and he’s our best defender on playmakers.”
“We need a playmaker who behaves like a quarterback on the field” explains the coach. “We don’t have a lot of one-on-one players, so we need a quarterback to organize the offense and make sure everyone gets the ball. He’s our best creator, he’s our best playmaker, and he’s our best defender on playmakers. That’s what we need him for. »
What a tribute from the Detroit coach who never stopped believing in Hayes, and he has been rewarded for two weeks. And even if he repeats that he does not expect points and shots from his playmaker, the Frenchman is more and more skilful, but also more and more confident. These two 3-pointers in overtime are full of grit and confidence.
“They were changing on me, and I knew I could take a shot” he says about his decisive sorting. “I felt the first one well, but the second one was even better. »
A confident player
Jason Kidd also regretted the lack of defense of his players. “Hayes found his rhythm and the resistance of our defense was not high. It was more of a morning practice, but Hayes is to be commended. »
A Hayes who appreciated the reaction of his teammates after having wasted a good lead in the “money time”. “We weren’t beaten down and we stayed strong” he underlines. “We defended well, we took our shots… We knew we deserved it because we’ve been playing well for a while. »
On a personal note, he confirms that his confidence has never been so high: “When things start working for you, you keep working and I’ve worked hard. I have the confidence of my coach, of all my teammates… They are always behind me, and that feels good. »
In addition to his points, we will also remember his good defense on Doncic or Dinwiddie, and his next opponent will be just as tough: Ja Morant!
| Killian Hayes | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2020-21 | TED | 26 | 26 | 35.3 | 27.8 | 82.4 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 6.8 |
| 2021-22 | TED | 66 | 25 | 38.3 | 26.3 | 77.0 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 6.9 |
| 2022-23 | TED | 23 | 24 | 34.6 | 30.6 | 84.2 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 7.3 |
| Total | 115 | 25 | 36.8 | 27.6 | 79.1 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 6.9 | |
