Saddiq Bey is finding his groove, Hamidou Diallo has the blueprint: Pistons observations

Here are some observations after the Motor City Pistons’ — I mean, Detroit Pistons’ — entertaining 94-85 loss to the Knicks on Wednesday night:

Headband Saddiq Bey is different

The Saddiq Bey you grew to love as a rookie has returned — and then some.

It was a trying first few months of a sophomore season for Bey, who was an All-Rookie first-team selection a season ago. The long-distance sniping wasn’t as accurate as it once was. The off-the-dribble experiment wasn’t going well consistently. Bey, in the midst of growing his game, went through growing pains across the board through the first 25 games.

Those woes might now be in the past.

Maybe it’s the headband he’s been rocking for the past eight games. Maybe it has something to do with Jerami Grant’s absence over the past eight games. Maybe it’s a little of both. Either way, Bey has looked like the offensive player many anticipated coming into Year 2. Over his past eight games, the 22-year-old is averaging 21.8 points and 6.8 rebounds with a true-shooting percentage of 60.8. He’s getting to the free-throw line more frequently. In Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks, Bey finished with a season-high 32 points (he hit 8 of 8 from the free-throw line) and nine rebounds, and Detroit needed every one of those buckets and boards to give a relatively healthy New York side a real scare.

“I think he is playing some of his best basketball, offensively,” coach Dwane Casey said before the game.

Casey did go on to say he’d like Bey to refine things on the defensive end, but his offensive struggles this season have been the most glaring. Having Grant out of the lineup does open up more touches for Bey and does move him up the pecking order, naturally, but he’s simply hitting shots that he wasn’t when Detroit was healthy. It always felt inevitable that Bey, who has been a deadly shooter at every level, would turn it around, but he’s put it into action at a time when the Pistons aren’t sure who is going to suit up nightly amid their COVID-19 outbreak.

Furthermore, even as the scoring has picked up, Bey’s rebounding continues to be a bright spot. Over his past seven games, Bey has tallied seven or more rebounds five times. Detroit, which has a relatively small frontcourt when at full strength, certainly needs that type of presence on the glass right now with Grant, Isaiah Stewart and Kelly Olynyk sidelined for various reasons.

There was a story I was told last season when I was reporting for this story on Bey a season ago. One day at practice while at Villanova, Bey was hesitant to shoot the ball. He was passing up open shots and deferring to others. When asked by assistant coach Kyle Neptune why he wasn’t being aggressive offensively, Bey told the staff that it was because they asked him to rebound and defend.

“Now, that’s a pretty simple story, but I think it’s really indicative to who he is,” Neptune said. “He figures out what’s important on the court and what’s asked of him, and he puts it into action.”

Bey still appears to carry that type of attitude.

“For me, I want to (impact) the game in as many ways as I can, whether it’s rebounding, defending, passing the ball,” Bey said Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter if a shot goes in or not, I want to be able to impact the game in every way. That’s definitely the emphasis, especially because we’re down (some guys).

“It’s in my game. I am a rebounder, so I have to do that more.”

Hamidou Diallo has found the blueprint

Much like Bey’s performance, the Pistons needed every drop of Hamidou Diallo’s 31 points and 13 rebounds to make New York sweat. And though the lack of main-roster guys allowed Diallo the freedom to pull out this kind of statistical performance, the 23-year-old operated in such a way that it should be able to translate when Detroit is again at full strength.

Diallo was decisive with the ball. He attacked when the defense was moving. He got out in transition. He didn’t settle for 18-footers and instead used mismatches to exercise his athletic gifts to get past defenders. There was very little dancing. Diallo crashed the glass often. Defensively, he was a pest. Whether he gets 19 shots, as he did against New York, or seven, Diallo has the blueprint to be effective.

There’s a player in there, one I believe could become an NBA starter if the spot-up opportunities fall at even a 33 percent clip. Diallo is one of the few on the roster willing to cut and able to read defenses in that way. He’s physically gifted. He has a good knack for drawing contact and anticipating it. The decision-making at times can be questionable, but that wasn’t the case against the Knicks.

A decisive Diallo is a really good basketball player, and it opens up a lot of things in his game.

“I thought Hami played the right way,” Casey said. “He did a great job of picking his spots, making the right decisions and trusting his teammates. The ball found the right person at the right time. He played the game as perfect as you can play. He took the 3 when he had it — the corner 3 — and that’s something he really, really learned from in the San Antonio game. He’s continuing to grow.”

Other notes

• Frank Jackson went down with an ankle injury early in the second quarter. He needed to be helped to the locker room by teammates. Casey had no update after the game and said further tests would happen Thursday.

• As far as injury and health updates, Casey said the statuses of the eight players in the health and safety protocols, including No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, were “fluid.” The coach was not yet given a possible return date for anyone. Additionally, Casey said he doesn’t yet have a return date for Olynyk, who has been out the past six weeks with a knee sprain. Olynyk was scheduled to be re-evaluated this week.

• Five Motor City Cruise players and G Leaguer Justin Robinson logged minutes against the Knicks. As a collective, it wasn’t pretty, as everyone not named Bey or Diallo combined to shoot 18.6 percent from the field. Derrick Walton Jr., though, did look like someone who has had more than a little taste of NBA basketball. The former Wolverine, who has played more than 50 career NBA games, didn’t look overmatched or sped up too often. He did a fine job, in spurts, of setting up the offense and getting the ball moving. There were some bad turnovers, but for the most part, Walton didn’t look out of place. He finished with eight points, nine assists and five turnovers in 36 minutes.

(Photo of Saddiq Bey defending Miles McBride: Raj Mehta / USA Today)