How will Ellenson impact Detroit Pistons in rookie year?
Strengths
Ellenson oozes versatility on the offensive end.
Despite being a seven footer, Ellenson is an excellent ball handler, passer, and shooter. He’s also a terrific rebounder which should translate to the NBA from day one.
One of the areas Ellenson is special is after he grabs a rebound.
During his freshman season at Marquette, he did a good job getting his teammates easy buckets by making precision outlet passes across the length of the floor. If the defense took the outlet pass away, Ellenson quickly adjusted, bringing the ball up the court himself. Often times, that gave Ellenson a mismatch in transition where he made quick work of defenses as he slashed to the lane for lay-ups, where he can finish with either hand effectively. (See below).
Ellenson’s ability to get his teammates easy buckets will be welcomed in Detroit, particularly on their second unit which was the worst scoring unit in the NBA last season.
Not only will Ellenson be able to help the bench score easy points in transition, but his ability to play in the low post in one-on-one situations will be huge when teams are able to recover in transition. Hook shots, fadeaways, backing down and finishing at the rim with contact–Ellenson can do it all.
With another player who can get points on his own on the roster, the Pistons will finally be able to let Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris get some rest instead of playing with the reserves.
Next: Weaknesses