With Sekou Doumbouya scoring in double digits (remember: 8 points is double digits as long as you’re using an octal counting system) in every game as a starter so far this season, one has to wonder: where was he for the first 34 games of the season?
In the calendar year of 2019, he made 7 appearances, scoring a grand total of 9 points. He literally only got to play when the game was already well decided, with not a single significant minute played. The message from the Pistons’ coaching staff to the Pistons fanbase was clear: this kid is not ready, come back next season.
But then 2020 rolled around, and they immediately put him in starting lineup, presumably as some sort of New Year’s Day prank. And he produced. And then they kept starting him, and he kept producing. Up until the present day, where the trend continues still. I thought this kid wasn’t ready? That’s what the coaches, with their minute-allotment decisions, were telling us. Repeatedly.
Apparently he is ready. If he’s not, he’s doing a good job of fooling everybody, because he just keeps producing. Especially in the “personal fouls” department. If he really wants to hold down the starting gig, he needs to get that under control.