Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Sunday, January 08, 2023 at 11:52 p.m.
Detroit’s 111-123 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday saw French point guard Killian Hayes shine, tying his career with 26 points.
At the start of the season, Killian Hayes was criticized for his lack of skill, whose success rate was one of the worst in the NBA. But that was before… If the results of his Detroit team are not better, the 21-year-old French leader has clearly raised his level. And it was on display again this Sunday, in a game starting at 3 p.m. local time that pitted the Pistons against Philadelphia. The 76ers, devoid of Joel Embiid, won 111–123 in Michigan (23 points for Maxey, 20 points, 11 points, and 11 points for James Harden) leading almost from start to finish, but Killian Hayes tied his career points record. The No. 7 of the 2020 Draft scored 26 points, 11 of 17 on shots, including four of eight on 3 points! He also added six assists, three steals and a block. His last game with 26 points came late last season, when Detroit won against Oklahoma City (a game in which another Frenchman, Théo Maledon, had scored 28 points). This season, his record was 25 points, in a victory over Charlotte.
Hayes has the keys to the Pistons
A substitute for the first thirteen games of the season, sometimes failing to score a single point in more than 16 minutes of play, Killian Hayes entered the Pistons’ five major on November 12 and hasn’t left it since. He still had a few air holes, but his average was already the same, for this game on Sunday, 9.3 points and 5.5 assists in 39 games since the start of the season. He only missed three games when he was suspended for his hit. With team star Cade Cunningham, No. 1 in the 2021 Draft, out until the end of the season, Killian Hayes holds the keys to the Pistons’ game, and he’s enjoying it. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate into results, as Detroit is still last in the Eastern Conference, with 11 wins to 32 losses. There is no doubt that French NBA fans will be giving their Frenchie a nice ovation during the January 19 game in Paris against Chicago!
