Before being announced forfeited for yesterday’s match in Toronto due to a shoulder injury, Killian Hayes had started all the Pistons’ games in the major five since the start of the regular season. The Frenchman has generally done rather well so far alongside Cade Cunningham, including a big match against Philadelphia with 23 points and 6 assists, even if his offensive timidity, linked to his skill, remains a concern.
For his part, Monty Williams would nevertheless think more and more about moving Killian Hayes within the “second unit” and associating Cade Cunningham with Jaden Ivey in his back positions. If the result was clearly not a success yesterday, between the 29-point defeat and Jaden Ivey’s timid game, the Pistons coach thinks that Killian Hayes could bring more off the bench, as leader of the ” second unit”.
“He was a guy who set the game up for us a number of times”, said Monty Williams before the meeting. “He and Cade stepped on each other’s toes a little bit. Not as much as I thought. I think to some extent I probably put Killian in a more difficult situation when he doesn’t have the ball and Cade has it because he can’t facilitate the play. It’s interesting to see how it can work.
After 11 defeats in a row, Monty Williams inevitably has to think about it anyway, and is looking to find a solution to reverse the trend. In any case, he insisted on the fact that it would not be a sanction for the Frenchman but an opportunity to inherit more responsibilities, in another role…
“I was thinking of putting him at the head of the second unit, not to demote him, but so that he could put the game in place for Alec Burks and Marcus Sasser. We’ll see how it evolves.” concludes the technician.
| Killian Hayes | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2020-21 | DET | 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 | DET | 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 | DET | 76 | 28 | 37.7 | 28.0 | 82.1 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 6.2 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 10.3 |
| 2023-24 | DET | 13 | 29 | 39.7 | 31.1 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 10.2 |
| Total | 181 | 27 | 37.7 | 27.7 | 79.7 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 5.2 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 8.6 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
