The Detroit Pistons are getting nice contributions from its second year forward, Henry Ellenson. The problem is that his playing time has been sporadic, and thus, he’s only had a handful of opportunities to play. According to Stan Van Gundy, that’s about to change, as Van Gundy says Ellenson deserves to play.
The Detroit Pistons, fresh off of a convincing 122-101 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, have to feel pretty good after what was easily the most complete performance of the season so far.
There were many story lines that provided encouragement from this game, such as Tobias Harris’ second 30-point game, Andre Drummond’s 15 and 15 game, Avery Bradley’s 20-point and eight rebound game, or Stanley Johnson’s best game of the season (and quite possibly game of his career) where he scored 15-points and was a menace on defense.
While those story line’s are big for the Pistons, there’s one more, and it may impact the way Stan Van Gundy elects to divvy up his minutes in the ensuing games.
Henry Ellenson has played two meaningful games this season. In those games, he’s score 13 and 14 points, scoring in a variety of ways, and making excellent passes. This past game against the Timberwolves, he even looked good defensively.
The problem for Ellenson is that the Pistons have played five games this season, three of which he either didn’t play (twice) or played minimally (four minutes against the New York Knicks).
After Ellenson’s performance against the Knicks, it looks as if the sporadic minutes hes getting is about to change, as Van Gundy says the big man has “deserved to play”.
#Pistons SVG has high hopes for Henry Ellenson, who had 14 pts, 5 rebs and likely will see more playing time: "One.. pic.twitter.com/Ynog064F2T
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) October 26, 2017
Pretty strong words for Van Gundy. It’s clear he thinks the world of Ellenson and appreciates his work ethic, and propensity to improve. I would agree with his assessment as Ellenson is clearly a better player this year, than he was last–and everything we’ve ever heard about Ellenson regarding his work ethic has been positive.
However, I wonder how much Ellenson’s playing time will actually change moving forward. It sounds as if Van Gundy is willing to let Ellenson play, and without a leash at that, but these quotes could also just indicate how frustrated Van Gundy is that he can’t find more time for Ellenson.
I hopes it’s the former. Ellenson does deserve to play more, and if he gets more playing time, it could accelerate his growth.
Considering Ellenson’s unique abilities at his size, he could develop into quite the player for the Pistons.
Next: Pistons Playbook: Week 1
It will be interesting to see how Van Gundy manages his rotation moving forward.