By Damon Knight
The Detroit Pistons played in their first regular-season game on Wednesday night. It resulted in a win over the Indiana Pacers 119-110. The team was led by center Andre Drummond and guards Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard. Drummond had 32 points, 2 assist and 23 rebounds. Rose scored 18 points, had 2 rebounds and 9 assist. Kennard who started the game on bench, scored 30 points in 28-minutes of work. He would add on 2 assist and 3 rebounds to his season high performance. After the game, Kennard spoke about Rose’s performance saying, “He just knows how to play the game,” Kennard said of Rose. “When teams have guys like that, really quarterbacking. He’s a general on the court. Nobody can stop them and when they try to, he finds the open guy.” I’ve said it before, but you’ve got to be a step ahead when you’re in the game with him. He’s a really impressive guy. A really important player. It’s fun to play with him.”
The Pistons will play the Atlanta Hawks in their season opener on Thursday night. They will be without star Blake Griffin for the first week of November with knee, hamstring issues. With Drummond’s production, the team will look to him to stay afloat. Rose said about Drummond, “I’m glad he (Drummond) is on my team,” Derrick Rose said after his Pistons debut. “It just feels good to win, especially the first game.”
