Rod Beard | The Detroit News
Detroit — In the last two games before the All-Star break, the Pistons had just one player in the starting lineup who also started the season opener.
Injuries have ravaged the roster, along with the decision to trade Derrick Rose and part ways with Blake Griffin. Jerami Grant missed the last two games because of a quad issue, Delon Wright (groin). Mason Plumlee was the lone starter, and the Pistons managed to get a win against the Toronto Raptors.
There could be some relief coming.
Coming off the break, Grant wasn’t listed on the injury report and Wright also could be working his way back after missing the final seven games.
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“We’ll see; both of them practiced today and we’ll see how they react to the practice,” coach Dwane Casey said Wednesday, following their first post-break practice. “We were a little rusty with balls flying all over everywhere, but guys were working hard and we kind of expected that, as far as the rust and missing shots.”
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There might even be a surprise return in the next few weeks: Killian Hayes. General manager Troy Weaver hinted that Hayes, who has been out since early January, could be making a return. Hayes has been at the last couple of road games and made the trip to Charlotte for the two road games to begin the second half of the season, against the Hornets and at the Nets on Saturday.
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“Everybody was back in practice today and Killian got a little run in and but we’re not putting a timetable on when he’s coming back,” Casey said, “but he did some light work on the side.”
Hayes has played in just the first seven games and if he’s able to play in any of the second-half games, it’ll be big for his development, and to gauge where the Pistons are at point guard, their most critical position.
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Wright could continue at point guard, as he’s done for most of the season since Hayes’ injury. Casey has said that he prefers to have multiple ballhandlers on the court at the same time, and specifically to have Wright paired with Hayes, to help him in the transition to the NBA, and to take some of that pressure off him as a rookie point guard.
Pandemic pivot
The Pistons (10-26) weren’t really impacted by COVID protocols in games in the first half, as some other teams were. They played 36 games and they did have a couple of encounters that were postponed until the second half, but they pulled a couple of games to the first half to ensure everything was balanced.
Even still, there are 36 games in a short timeframe, which will make practice days that much more important, while keeping track of whether some players are getting close to the areas where they risk injury because of overuse.
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“That’s a thin line, as far as our team is concerned, just because we are so young and there’s so much teaching to be done. You have to balance that with the fact that these are real games and the high-minutes guys will probably have less practice time and low-minutes guys will probably get in the gym,” Casey said. “We work with our medical staff as far as balancing the time and keeping metrics of their mileage and all those things they measure to make sure we keep a good eye on that as we go through this.
“And it’s not only us; it’s the entire NBA that’s going to have a watchful eye as far as making sure you don’t risk injury with the games and practice and trying to get better.”
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard
Pistons at Hornets
Tipoff: 7 Thursday, Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.
TV/radio: FSD/950
Outlook: The Pistons (10-26) open the second half of the season with their first meeting against the Hornets (17-18), who are in seventh place in the East. LaMelo Ball (15.8 points, 6 rebounds and 6.3 assists) is the favorite to be rookie of the years.