Summer League Game 2 Grades

Rasheed Wallace's first game on the bench as an assistant coach saw the Pistons lost to the Celtics in an embarrassing 93-63 performance, in which the Pistons shot only 27.7% from the field and turned the ball over 21 times. Without Andre Drummond's interior presence--he sat out because he's tired of playing with these mortals--Detroit's big men got beat up inside and on the glass, allowing the Celtics to shoot 49.3%. At one point in the first quarter, the score was 30-7, so that should tell you how valuable analysis of this game is, but I started this with game one and I have to finish it now. So, onto the grades:

The Starters
Peyton Siva: C-
6 pts (0-4 FG, 4-6 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers

Following a decent first game, Siva's flaws began to show more prominently. The Celtics were basically refusing to guard him. On all pick and rolls, the on-ball defender was going well below the screen and begging Siva to shoot. When he did, he missed, going 0-4 on the day. The Celtics were able to pack the lane and the second round pick struggled to get his teammates into rhythm. Without the defensive contributions he had in the first game, his offensive weaknesses were accentuated.

Viacheslav Kravtsov: B-
9 pst (3-6 FG, 3-4 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 4 personal fouls

Kravtsov acquitted himself better than any other Piston in this game. Despite encountering foul trouble early in the game, he proved that his touch around the basket is no fluke. Kravtsov will stick on this roster for big man depth and hopefully play well when he's called upon.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: D
11 pts (3-10 FG, 1-6 3FG, 4-5 FT), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4 steals, 2 turnovers

Another game, another spectacularly athletic missed dunk by KCP. Kentavious was the only Piston to score in double digits but he was also the only player to take 10 or more shots. His outside shooting was once again inconsistent. KCP's shot isn't just rimming out; it's not even flying straight. If his shots were all clanging off the back of the rim, it would be less of a concern, but watching his shots hit the side of the rim points to a player struggling with balance and consistency. Defensively, he was once again impressive, charting four steals--though he helped off of the strongside shooter a number of times, a rookie mistake--but his offensive mechanics are the biggest issue in his game.

Kim English: F
1 pt (0-8 FG, 0-5 3FG, 1-1 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers

Unlike KCP, English's shots were flying true but ended up bricking off the inside of the rim. In spite of this, English failed to do much of anything in this game and was often caught out of position defensively and a non-factor offensively.

Tony Mitchell: C
6 pts (3-9 FG, 0-2 FT), 10 rebounds (8 offensive!!!), 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal

Mitchell's athletic gifts were on display once again, but for the first time, so too were his attitude problems and lack of motivation. Mitchell should have received but wasn't called for a technical (one that was mistakenly given to Kelly Olynyk) and was seen talking smack to a number of Celtics bigs. He also wasn't as aggressive defensively as he appeared with Andre Drummond behind him. Mitchell's consistency may be an ongoing concern.

The Backups
Khris Middleton: C-
4 pts (1-5 FG, 2-2 FT), 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover

For a second straight game, Middleton showed that the weakest part of his game are stone hands. He has trouble corralling rebounds and often fumbles passes when he's moving. A far cry from the promising first game of the Summer League, Middleton showed the same level of aggression but significantly less efficiency. Hopefully this was a function of the entire team playing poorly and not an indication that his first game was a flash in the pan.

Korie Lucious: D-
9 pts (3-7 shooting, 3-5 3FG), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals, 6 turnovers

When Lucious was on the court, the offense was manic. He looked out of control, leaped before he had any intention of moving the ball, and tried to take over offensively. I understand that he's trying to make a name for himself, but this audition isn't going well.

Travis Peterson: B
9 pts (3-5 FG, 3-4 FT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 rebound, 1 turnover

Peterson played another unremarkable basketball game in which he managed to turn in one of the team's best performances. Some European team will be happy-ish to have him.

JaJuan Johnson/Ryan Evans: C-

Johnson is a castoff of the Celtics organization where he was never able to find any playing time. He spent this entire game taking and missing midrange shots. Evans, on the other hand, had an uneventful game in which he was beaten up when guarding bigger players and unable to make an impact on an otherwise terrible offense.

EJ Singler
Club Trillion

***

This was ugly from the start. Regroup and try again today. Pray for KCP to find his stroke and for Mitchell to assert himself more on both ends of the court. Oh, and Andre Drummond playing in game three would be helpful too, but winning these games is no tradeoff for a Drummond injury.