The Detroit Pistons have one more opportunity to end their Summer League campaign on a positive note
After four games in the Summer League, the Detroit Pistons have a 1-3 record to show for their work, but that .250 winning percentage is not necessarily indicative of all the work and development that’s gone on behind the scenes.
For first-round pick Ebuka Okorie, the Summer League has given the former Stanford point guard an opportunity to see where he’s at as a 19-year old in relation to a host of other NBA hopefuls. So far, Okorie has acquitted himself well as a speedy ball handler who can get to the bucket in a blur while making quality passing decisions in other scenarios, but the talented guard still has facets of the game that he needs to adapt to, such as the physicality that awaits him at the pro level.
“He’s resilient,” Detroit Pistons Summer League coach Steve Scalzi said. “He’s rubbery. When he gets thrown to the floor, he bounces right back up. That’s awesome about him, and we appreciate it. He’s got spirit to him. He’s relentless when he’s coming at you. When he really starts to learn NBA spacing, learn where all his looks are, it’s going to be dangerous.”
For Okorie, it did not take long to see why the Pistons were so pleased that they were able to land him in the draft on June 23rd, but he’s endured a few matchups where it was clear that his game is still a work in progress.
”It’s been really good,” Okorie said. “Summer League has really just been showing me what I need to work on to be ready for the regular season. There’s a couple big takeaways like continuing to get stronger, there’s different reads, different decisions and just slowing the game down and just making better reads. So, all the information I’m getting here, all the mistakes, all the good stuff, I’m just going to evaluate it and be ready when the season starts.”
Though Okorie is just a rookie, he already has a growth mindset attached to his quick first step and penchant for making plays in the paint, and that’s an element of his makeup that cannot always be taught. So, the Summer League will likely serve as a springboard for the highly coveted playmaker as he makes the jump to the professional level over the next couple months.
As for the Pistons’ recent 12-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, coach Scalzi provided an honest assessment of how Detroit was a little slow to respond when the game tipped off, but he also pointed to the impact that his rookie point guard made on the game from that point forward.
”We got punched in the mouth early,” Scalzi said. “The group responded. I was proud of them. We did string together some success. We didn’t win the game obviously. The reality is we started to play 38 minutes of Pistons after the first couple, and Ebuka was a huge part of that, his resiliency and his bounce-back.”
Although the Pistons were far from flawless over the last week and change, the team has tacked together some positive passages of play. Chaz Lanier and Brice Williams have showcased their superb shooting ability from three-point range, and big man Isaac Jones logged a double-double against the Suns, so there are a series of bright spots to point to even though the results have been turbulent.
”Overall, we need to play to our identity,” Scalzi said. “You’re out here to try a bunch of different environments when you’re in a mini-season of discovery. Also, we’re playing in really short situations where it’s a quick turnaround, back-to-backs, new teammates, a lack of chemistry, but again, that’s what the NBA is. That’s what the G-League is. There’s lots of environments that they’ll be able to carry from this one to the regular season even though it feels like it’s on a greater scale here.”
Next up, the Pistons have one final contest in the Summer League slated for later today when they’ll go into battle against the Miami Heat to wrap up their time in Las Vegas.
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