Killian Hayes’ preseason debut was anything but spectacular but Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey knew ahead of time that was likely going to be the case on Friday night.
Hayes finished with five points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals but shot just 2-of-7 from the field and turned the ball over seven times in 21 minutes against the New York Knicks. He has been praised for his playmaking ability but, on Friday, was just a touch off in a few areas of his game.
Though a high number, several of his seven turnovers were preventable. On more than one occasion, Hayes either dragged his pivot foot, slid his foot over or picked up his dribble too early.
The mistakes, as Casey said, are all part of the process.
“The turnovers are glaring and you see them but they didn’t bother me,” Casey said Saturday on a Zoom call with reporters. “That’s part of the growing process for him. I promise you, he’ll learn from them. He is a quick learner and showing him the video this morning, he saw it and talked about what he did wrong before he was even shown the video. Those things are going to happen.”
Considering the circumstances, the subpar debut by Hayes may not be all that surprising.
A typical rookie is afforded the opportunity to play in Summer League. They have a long summer available to them to work out at the team facility and a longer period of time to get to know their new teammates. Hayes has practiced for less than two weeks with the Pistons following the shortened offseason period and has had few opportunities to run full-court scrimmages with his team.
Hayes previously played the past three years professionally overseas and has been given a strong vote of confidence by Casey in picking up the Pistons’ system. He has prior knowledge of running advanced plays and that should pay dividends this season.
“Once he gets used to the length, quickness and speed of the NBA, it won’t take him long,” Casey said. “He did make some good plays. He got in the paint deep, he punched it in there and kicked it out and caught them in rotation on the weak side. That’s what you have to be able to do in today’s NBA game and he does an excellent job with it. He does a good job in practice each and every day and last night he had some rookie turnovers and that’s part of the growth process we’ve got to go through.”
Hayes’ first points came off a beautiful pass from teammate Blake Griffin as he converted the tough layup over a defender. Other times, he helped move the ball down the court and even found success penetrating into the lane and kicking it out to an open man.
The final stat line by Hayes was easy to criticize but considering the situation, the 19-year-old showed flashes of his potential in a limited sample size. He has proven to be a confident player and should bounce back on Sunday as the Pistons once again host the Knicks.
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