Detroit Basketball is back.
Ebuka Okorie’s first game in a Pistons uniform saw him score 20 points to go along with four assists and two steals. He shot 8-for-16 (50%) from the field including 2-for-5 (40%) from deep.
Scoring
The guy can flat out score.
You can see how easily he can get to the rim with his speed and quickness. He’s too fast to full-court press or try and catch in possession. He makes splitting the roll defender look way easier than it should. He looked calm, cool, and collected as he never looked rushed the entire night.
Shooting
Okorie’s two threes were both off-the-dribble. The first game after he split a pick-and-roll where Johni Broome was too far away to help and Ebuka made him pay. The second was a shot he created himself where he got the defender to bite on a pump fake before hitting the step-back.
Defense
Ebuka was active in the passing lanes last night. Both steals came from him jumping into a lane to force a turnover, and his second steal ended in a great up-and-under finish at the rim.
I wanted to highlight his playmaking, though, it’s difficult to find clips of Summer League games. He had a couple of fantastic passes out of pick-and-roll sets to find open shooters although their shots didn’t fall. While he didn’t get to show off his playmaking abilities as much given his supporting cast at Stanford, I think he has real ability to be a true point guard and I hope we continue to see more of that throughout Summer League.
Game 2 will take place on Sunday, July 12th against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 4PM EST.
Go Stones.
