Detroit Pistons’ bench desperately needs Brandon Jennings
By Ricky LaBlue
Yes, the Detroit Pistons are 3-1, but there is a serious problem with their performance so far this season.
In Detroit’s loss to the Pacers, the bench was held to just two points for the entire game. Not a quarter, but for the entire game.
Collectively, the bench went 1-12 from the field. The bench’s poor play forced the five starters to play an average of 38.6 minutes for the game, with both Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope playing more than 40 minutes.
As if you needed more evidence to see how poorly the bench played against the Pacers, those players had a collective plus/minus of -76. Even though this was the Pistons’ first loss, the bench has struggled all season.
Hoopstats.com keeps track of all sorts of statistics and advanced statistics. They judge teams with an efficiency recap difference, which takes into account a team’s efficiency and their opponent’s efficiency.
The Pistons’ bench is ranked dead last in the NBA in this category, with an efficiency recap difference of -10.8. The unit ranks 27th in field goal percentage and 28th in three-point percentage. The offense stalls and every time the Pistons’ starting five are getting a rest, they lose ground.
It might’ve seemed that the Pistons had some depth off the bench coming into the season, but that depth has yet to show itself. Steve Blake has been awful this season and he can’t knock anything down. Jodie Meeks is out for an extended period of time, Stanley Johnson is still adjusting to the professional game, Anthony Tolliver is mainly a spot up shooter and Aron Baynes needs help getting his own shots.
The Pistons don’t have a creator on offense. Second-year guard Spencer Dinwiddie finally got some action against Indiana and turned the ball over twice in seven minutes, while picking up three fouls.
There isn’t a clear answer to solve this problem. Some have wondered about moving Marcus Morris, who has gotten off to a hot start, to the sixth man role, but that isn’t what’s needed. Unfortunately, what the Pistons need won’t be coming for a little while longer.
Detroit desperately needs Brandon Jennings.
Jennings, who has yet to participate in 5-on-5 drills in practice, would provide some punch off of the bench. He can create his own shot and can distribute to others. Jennings has been erratic, but he’s never really been give the keys off the bench in his career. In Jennings’ 412 career games, he’s started in 409 of them.
Jennings also said that he would be willing to come off the bench, so there’s no reason to worry about a disgruntled player who runs the offense. Combine Jennings with the rest of the Pistons’ bench, and they will immediately be a better unit. How much better? Well, that question remains to be answered. Unfortunately, we won’t know until December at the earliest.
Jennings has been a polarizing player for most of his time in Detroit and his career. Heck, just take a look at the comment section in a piece I wrote about Jennings’ value this summer. The point is, the Pistons need him. They finally have a respectable and dangerous starting lineup. Now, they just need to pair the lineup with a bench that can keep them in games. The Pistons have potential to make some noise in the Eastern Conference, but they need a bench that can hold the fort.