With the Pistons losing the starting point, Delon Wright, against a groin strain and the Knicks losing Elfrid Payton to a hamstring strain, Sunday’s Motown PG game is played.
Derrick Rose v. Dennis Smith Jr. at Detroit’s Little Caesar’s Arena.
Rose and Smith were traded three weeks ago and it has worked splendidly for the Knicks.
Rose, in her second straight game since Payton fell, earned 17 points, 11 assists and five steals in Saturday’s big win over the Pacers to move to .500 (17-17).
It has also been enlightening for the Pistons, as Detroit seeks to revive the abandoned Knicks Smith. Pistons coach Dwane Casey turned Smith into the starting point four games ago and has found his mojo.
In that period, Smith averaged 12 points in 21.6 minutes and shot 50 percent: 46.7 out of 3. He averaged four assists and 1.5 steals.
“The truth is, you never want to get too comfortable to end up complacent,” Smith said on the eve of the Knicks showdown. “But you can definitely know when the feeling of play begins to return, especially because of the situation from which it came. I can feel my feeling coming back for me. “
Smith, who was the centerpiece of Kristaps Porzingis ’trade, played only three first games for the Knicks, two in garbage time. He then hurt his quad and never returned to the track before the negotiation. Finally, he asked to get representatives on the G-League training camp for Westchester.
It was in the Atlanta G-League bubble where Smith learned on Super Bowl Sunday that he was moving to Detroit. After the trade, Smith said at a Zoom press conference that he “smiled all day.”
Three weeks later, Smith is still smiling.
“Much better,” Smith said when asked how his conditioning now compares to trade day. “He calls on the coaches and all those who are part of the staff. They are always looking to work. After each game, we get a post-game workout, which is new to me. They take time out at night. So thank you.
“I think I just came in and be myself in terms of my presence,” the 23-year-old former North Carolina State Guard added. “I came in and it was me. I feel like I like everyone here. It seems to me to be reciprocal. I’m just still a basic element for this team and I’m trying to lead as much as I can. “
The Pistons hold the worst NBA record in the East at 9 and 24 hours, although they do not know how to lose their lottery selection, the tip Killian Hayes, due to a serious hip injury. Hayes may return before the season is over.
Friday against Sacramento, Smith launched a monstrous traffic-driving mess, something out of his college days. When he was told he hadn’t been put in a game in a year, Smith already knew it.
“It’s crazy to think a year has passed,” Smith said. “The last one was in Charlotte because it appeared in my Facebook memories. It was a dynamizer for the team.”
Meanwhile, the Knicks are also smiling because of the Rose-Smith transaction.
Rose, who wanted to leave Detroit to play again with coach Tom Thibodeau, has been almost all that has been announced in nine games. He has been a ground leader and has played a better defense than in his first Knicks stage. He averages 13.5 points and 4.5 assists.
Having played in Detroit only two seasons. try not to get sentimental.
“No thought,” Rose said of her return. “It simply came to our notice then. This has helped me understand that it’s a business and understand that you can’t play in a way that hurts the team.
“This is my first time. I don’t talk about it unless someone introduces it. I try to leave this against the current, just be working in my profession, trying to learn the boys every day and try to leave my mark on the team whenever I can, but I can’t look back ”.