By JOHN LIKANJE
It was a tale of two tapes for Thomas Bryant (Bishop Kearney/Indiana) and Isaiah Stewart (McQuaid/Washington) in their first ever career matchup. Bryant had one of the most eventful preseason games of his young career while Stewart fulfilled his role in limited playing time once again. Here is a review of how the Section V alumni performed in the opening of a two-game set:
Thomas Bryant, Washington Wizards
High School: Bishop Kearney (before one year at Huntington Prep School)
Game result: 97-86 loss to the Detroit Pistons
Game statistics: 11 points on 2-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-3 from long range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, eight rebounds, four blocks, three assists and one steal in 28 minutes
The extracurricular activities that Thomas Bryant engaged in doesn’t take away the fact that he stuffed the stat sheet and was one of the few bright spots for the Wizards. The majority of his highlights occurred on the defensive end as offensively, both of his made field goals came in the third quarter: a stepback three-pointer and a putback slam.
Bryant was extremely active, giving Blake Griffin and Jahlil Okafor all they could handle. Bryant was especially aggressive against Griffin, holding him to two points on three shot attempts while poking the ball away from him in the low post for his lone steal.
Bryant accumulated four emphatic blocks as well – two in each half. In the first half, the 6-foot-10 center swatted away Sekou Doumbouya and Okafor layup attempts.
Thomas Bryant has some big daddy blocks tonight. pic.twitter.com/z7hCy6f9Oi
— Matt Trabold (@TrabsMatt) December 18, 2020
In the third quarter, Bryant rose up and smacked a Delon Wright floater towards the Wizards’ bench for another highlight-reel ejection.
Denied. 🖐🖐🖐#WizPistons | @nolimittb31 pic.twitter.com/fFcveWlKYM
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) December 18, 2020
Bryant finished up his eventful night with a nice bounce pass to Moritz Wagner for a layup and a pair of free throws. Considering what transpired, it’ll be interesting to see how the former Bishop Kearney star approaches Saturday’s rematch to end the preseason. Game time is slated for the same slot of 7 p.m.
Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons
High school: McQuaid (before two prep years at La Lumiere)
Game result: 97-86 victory over the Washington Wizards
Game statistics: one steal in five minutes
Isaiah Stewart saw limited playing time for the third straight preseason game due to solid outings by Okafor (eight points, eight rebounds and one steal) and Mason Plumlee (eight points, six boards, four assists and three steals).
However, the 6-foot-9 forward still fulfilled his role of boxing out the opposing big men as best he could and setting screens for ball-handlers to cut down the middle of the floor and break down the defense. Stewart has one more game to prove to Dwane Casey and the coaching staff he belongs in the rotation. The Pistons rematch the Wizards in the final preseason tune-up Saturday at 7 p.m.
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