The 2012 Orlando Summer League Pistons took care of business in their first game on Monday afternoon, knocking off the Utah Jazz's team, 76-73.
After a relatively strong start in the first quarter, the Pistons went on a serious drought that resulted in them failing to score a single point while Utah went on a 20-0 run toward a 13-point lead. The Pistons fought back a little just before the first half ended, but trailed by nine at the break. They were shooting Andre Drummond's college free throw percentage from the field, mostly due to poor shooting performances from Austin Daye and Brandon Knight.
The third was all Pistons, though, as they outscored the Jazz 32-11 in the quarter. Daye started to come alive a little bit and Brandon Knight was doing a much better job running the show and getting the whole team involved, including Kim English, who hit three three-pointers on Knight assists.
English finished as the game's high scorer with 18 points on just nine shots and was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. He took a couple charges on the defensive end and, to me, was the most impressive Pistons player today.
In addition to English, Andre Drummond and Kyle Singler shined. Drummond had two blocks, four steals and was very active down low. Although he only had five rebounds, he forced a handful of bad shots and created rebound opportunities for his teammates. His first bucket in a Pistons (summer league) uniform was a step-back 15-footer, but his free throw shooting is as bad as advertised, as he air-mailed two of his three attempts. Singler was steady throughout the game on both ends of the floor and finished with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. He also has really long hair.
As one should expect with Summer League games, it was full of slop, too -- turnovers (37 to be exact) and a lot of whistles from referees also trying to make a name for themselves (56 free throw attempts). For the most part, though, I was satisfied with the way the young Pistons played in their return to action, particularly the five we're fairly sure will be on the roster.
- Box Score
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