Hamidou Diallo has drawn strong praise from teammates and his coaching staff in his three games played with the <span class="exclude-from-newsgate">Detroit </span>Pistons,
His 19-point, seven-rebound performance in 26 minutes on Wednesday further established him as an impact rotation player for the Pistons. After recovering from a groin injury, he has quickly fit in and contributed.
Diallo showed a little of everything against the <span class="exclude-from-newsgate">Portland Trail </span>Blazers on Wednesday: His ability to push the pace in transition, rebound, defend and consistently put pressure on the rim has given the team a noticeable energy lift.
“He plays hard,” Dwane Casey said after Wednesday’s 124-101 loss. “That’s his intensity level and he gets to the basket. That’s probably one of the top shots on our shots spectrum is getting to the rim, and he does that at a high clip. He runs the floor, he plays at that pace that’s just hard to compete against on most nights. He’s earned it.”
In his past two games, he has scored 38 points on 13-for-18 shooting, hitting three of his five 3-pointers, grabbing 17 rebounds, making nine of 10 free throws and blocking three shots.
