Detroit Pistons rookie Luke Kennard has fallen out of the rotation in recent games. According to Stan Van Gundy, its because of a lack of energy, but he hopes the sharp shooter will get back into the rotation soon.
The Detroit Pistons have finally broken out of its slump, beating the Milwaukee Bucks two nights ago.
The answer? It wasn’t Luke Kennard, who played just a handful of minutes in garbage time.
We’ve gotten pretty much no explanation as to why Kennard has fallen out of favor during the last few games, but Van Gundy has finally opened up.
"“It’s more of an energy thing right now,” Van Gundy said. “I know Luke can play, he’s proven it this year. He can be a really good player in this league, so I don’t worry about a shooting slump. I was concerned that we were just not getting the energy out of him, and the offensive aggressiveness.“So, for the next couple of games we’re going to go with Lang, whether he shoots it real well or not, and let him roll. And then hopefully we’ll get Luke back to playing the way we know he can play.”"
Talk about a cryptic quote.
I interpret Van Gundy as saying that he is going to roll with Langston Galloway regardless of how he plays. While that is kind of a ridiculous notion considering Van Gundy has been hell bent on not playing Galloway, that part of the quote does seem pretty clear.
The part that doesn’t make any sense is the end of the quote. “Hopefully we’ll get Luke back to playing the way we know he can play.”
So, does that mean Kennard is going to be back in the rotation after the next couple games, or merely that he will get a chance to get back into the rotation?
I take it as the latter, though I have my doubts that Kennard’s play will be the determining factor in playing time.
For example, if Galloway plays really well over the next few games and the Pistons are winning, will Van Gundy really want to insert his rookie back into the rotation?
I highly doubt it, particularly with how tough Van Gundy seems to be on rookies.
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Assuming Galloway places so-so or worse, I think we should see Kennard back in the rotation at some point in the near future.
That’s my take, what’s yours?