Pistons: 3 goals for Killian Hayes in his return to action

Goal No. 2: Go right once in a while

One of the biggest knocks on Killian Hayes coming into the draft was a lack of a right hand. He’s so left-dominant that the whole right side can be an afterthought for him, and NBA defenses are savvy enough to force him to rely on it. It’s not unusual for young lefties to struggle with their right hand, but it would be encouraging to see some progress over the final 23 games of the season.

More from Detroit Pistons

• NBA Trades: Spurs can add a recent lottery pick in this deal with Pistons
• Detroit Pistons draft odds: What are the chances of landing the #1 pick?
• Were the Golden State Warriors right to give up on James Wiseman?
• Ranking the top 18 shooters available on NBA trade market
• Jalen Duren has all the tools to be a star for the Detroit Pistons

To add to his challenges in this regard, Hayes doesn’t possess much explosive athleticism, so if opponents know he’s going left and he can’t blast by them, his life gets more difficult. More often than not, when defenses force him to go right, he will launch up a step-back jumper or give the ball up early. Both of those outcomes are wins for opponents, and he’s going to have to learn to counter this.

Goal No. 1: Show improvement before the end of the season

Needless to say, the Pistons would like to see Killian Hayes be better at some things by the end of the season than he was at the beginning of it. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, but if we’re setting realistic rookie season goals, this has to go on the list.

Before his injury, it appeared that Hayes was trending positively in a few categories. Primarily, his playmaking and defense were both as good or better than advertised, and it seemed like the game was slowing down at least slightly for him in respect to his ability to process and make decisions.

Whether or not we just got to see some positive flashes in a vacuum, removed from true progress, may be determined soon as the season goes on. It almost doesn’t even matter just what exactly he shows progression on, although his right hand and shooting would be fantastic outcomes.

Let’s just see him go from a 1 to a 2 by the time the NBA regular season comes to an end, in whatever shape or form that comes.