LOS ANGELES – Dwane Casey didn’t give Sekou Doumbouya and Christian Wood their third career starts because he felt like getting a glimpse at what the 2020-21 Pistons could be.
He did so because he felt the two building blocks of a Pistons future hurried along by a tsunami of injuries provided the best possible matchups on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. That those matchups came against two players headed for the Hall of Fame was another matter.
Against Doumbouya and Wood’s six career starts, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have combined for 1,728, each taken No. 1 overall in their draft year. It wouldn’t be an upset if one was MVP for the regular season and the other for the NBA Finals this season.
“This is one of the best teams I’ve seen,” Dwane Casey said of his nearly three decades in the NBA. “I was in Seattle (and) we had the Chicago Bulls (of Michael Jordan). As far as a well-rounded team, this is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.”
Yet there the Pistons were, coming back twice and inching ahead by a point with less than five minutes to play before running out of gas, losing 106-99.
Derrick Rose scored 28 points to stabilize the offense while the kids did their part on a night you might have expected them to be awe-struck and the Pistons to be smacked around because of it. It was the perfect script for a blowout – the Pistons missing four key players, losing a fifth mid-game when Tony Snell bowed out with a migraine, playing a back to back and their third game in four nights on day nine of a six-game road trip – except for one thing: Nobody informed the Pistons.
“The whole team, for everybody who came in, did a great job of competing,” Wood said. “I think we’re fighting.”
Doumbouya, who turned 19 two days before Christmas, comes equipped with the endless well of adrenaline that 19-year-olds possess. But after his first three NBA starts came against three of the world’s best players – Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green and James – in less than 100 hours, even he had to be drained, mentally and emotionally if not physically.
“Hmmm,” Doumbouya said, gathering his equipment as he considered the question, “I mean, it’s tough. Tonight we played against one of the best teams in the league and even if you do good defense, they’re going to create a foul.”
Doumbouya was two months from his third birthday when James made his NBA debut Oct. 29, 2003, so he’s been aware of James since he could form conscious thought. For all of that time, he’s been the NBA’s most famous player. You think he might have been a little intimidated?
“I was excited before the game,” he grinned. “I just bring energy, do what I can do against him. That’s it.”
James surely put his mark on the game. He finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists to Doumbouya’s 11 points and five rebounds. Davis had similar impact with 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Wood finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
But they didn’t have to stop the fight on either side. The Pistons didn’t shrink from the moment, their kids included. Wood overlapped with Davis in New Orleans a bit last season, though Davis had mostly checked out after going public with trade demands.
“He was a little bit on vacation, but me and him – I always told him I want to see him one on one,” Wood said. “We never got the chance until today, so it was my first time going up against him. I think I did a great job.”
Doumbouya has averaged 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds and shot 5 of 15 from the 3-point arc. The lasting impression, though, is that even through the athletic highs and the rookie lows, he looks like he thoroughly belongs on this stage.
“Hopefully it builds his confidence,” Rose said. “But I think he knows how good he is. He comes in, does his work. He has a lot of confidence in himself, so he’ll be fine.”
Around teammates, Doumbouya is playful and throws off reminders that he’s still a teenager. But the playfulness disappears when he steps on the court. He’s been remarkably focused and – to Casey’s delight – has played consistently hard.
If he’s exceeded outside expectations, he’s merely met his own.
“This is what I thought,” he said. “Everybody plays. You just need to be confident. I had playing time and that’s it.”
“I like his disposition,” Casey said. “All this group is our core group down the road to grow, to get better. They’re going to make some mistakes, but on a back to back, I thought (Doumbouya’s) fight was as much as anybody else’s. He’s getting baptized at the right time.”
“They’re hoopers,” Rose said of Doumbouya and Wood. “They played as hard as they could. Sekou left it on the floor. C-Wood, he’s been showing flashes all year how good he is. You’re up here for a reason.”