This smacks of an over-protective mother. They should have been sent down from jump if they weren't going to get playing time. Middleton especially. Guy is so far down the depth chart he needs a pressure suit to attend games. but you can;t send a young man down there so you send his older brother too...and just for a short time and only for home games. he might get lost on the road and end up playing for the Dominican national team. you know, because CV can't.
Is 3 games going to be enough time to teach these guys how to sit on the bench properly? I feel like if they had a week they could really take their time with them and not rush them. These guys are still young and I really worry that they're going to overwhelm them.
I guess that beats sitting them on the bench. Kind of a weird move though since they were never really given the chance to showcase what they have to offer. I really thought Kim English looked solid so I don't know what happened. Also, if I'm not mistaken this opens up 2 roster spots right? Maybe they're looking to bring someone else in via trade?
I think folks are not reading the article.... The Ants play 3 games close together so the kids can get some burn while the team is on the road and will probably not have a ton of practice time. I understand waiting till the season is into a dull roar so that the rookies get used to living in the NBA. They go down and get some good burn in a week, there not going to play for the Pistons in the next week unless somebody gets hurt. (no matter how much you guys want it to happen) They are still counted towards our 15 total... so no were not adding players. It could be possible though they are getting showcased down there to be filler for a possible trade or that want one of them to knock off some rust before being inserted into the lineup when they return. I am most surprised that the Russian kid wasn't sent along with them, not sure if that means he's coming along better or worse then expected.
We have Russian kid? Are you talking about that really tall waterboy? Didn't know he played basketball. PS: Thanks for the clarification on the roster thing BL.
After watching these games multiple times, I'll say that English is ready for rotational minutes - Middleton isn't. In my opinion, the thing that hampered him the most was Walker D. In the first game with PG Ron Howard, the ball got out to the wings earlier and more often. Russell looked for jajuan and plumlee a lot. That left Middleton standing in the corner like Austin Daye. It was reminiscient of Summer league where he's trying to fit in as 4th banana. Still, watching him curl around a screen and pull up is a thing of beauty regardless of the result now. He's very cognizant of the court with the ball. His positional defense is very good at this level but I didn't notice him getting up to challenge many shots. Under the basket it was a cf so if he did get some blocks i couldn't see it. My impression is that he's a weak rebounder. He gets a fair amount because its the D league and they both brick shots and lack NBA calibre rebounding. I would prefer Khris to remain here. He doesn't seem to lack confidence but a bit more assertiveness would be good. English was the very model of a modern major contributor. Consistent. Poised. Confident. Moved well off ball and hit shots. Effective on defense. Clearly a cut above even other NBA prospects. As in summer league he tends to get out of control in the open court but in the slower sets, his handle is decent. Will not break his defender down but can protect the ball while the play is being set up. We talk a lot about Drummond's development. i think the Pistons utterly lucked out in spite of themselves with Singler. the American farm system...dare i say the ENTIRE basketball system is ass. English doesn't need a lot of development but he needs an intermediary step like a triple A minor system. I guess the analogue to that is to be spoon fed minutes in the NBA. Middleton needs development a bit closer to Drummond if they want him to be that fallen lottery talent...otherwise he's just another castaway 2nd rounder.
The Detroit Pistons today recalled rookies Khris Middleton and Kim English from Ft. Wayne of the NBA Development League.English averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 36.7 minutes in three games (all starts). The Missouri product is averaging 3.2 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 10 Pistons games.Middleton averaged 11.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 26.3 minutes in three games (all starts). The Texas A&M product has appeared in three Pistons games this season, averaging 1.3 points, 0.7 assists and 0.7 steals.
With losses to the Red Claws and the Charge, they seem to have mastered the Coaches agenda of not winning. Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
