Is Henry Ellenson ready to take the keys from Anthony Tolliver?

With Anthony Tolliver heading to free agency expecting a pay raise, has Henry Ellenson proved he’s ready to take over the fan favorites spot?

It’s been just about two seasons since Henry Ellenson joined the Detroit Pistons. Drafted as the 18th overall pick in 2016, fans had expectations of wanting Ellenson as part of the rotation.

Fans were told to wait on him his first year, as he wasn’t ready and needed to gain weight and strength.

Coming into year two Ellenson was given a chance. Stan Van Gundy made it sound like he had earned himself a spot in the rotation.

That chance never came, as Ellenson played only one game after Van Gundy said this.

Ellenson went 0-5 against the Los Angeles Clippers in 12 minutes of action. He was yanked from the rotation after one game of action. In the previous two games of rotational minutes, Ellenson averaged nine points a game, on 50 percent shooting from the field, and 36 percent from beyond the arc on almost four attempts.

What a great chance he was given, huh?

Nevermind that.

With the Pistons eliminated from the playoffs for the second year straight, and an injured ankle to Blake Griffin, Ellenson has been given rotational minutes again.

With Anthony Tolliver heading to free agency this offseason to get a pay raise, and the Pistons not being able to give much money out, Ellenson has tried his best to prove he can fill the fan favorites shoes.

In the seven games of action given to Ellenson, he’s averaged exactly 17 minutes a game. In these 17 minutes, he’s averaged 9.1 points a game, on 41 percent shooting from the field, and 36 percent from beyond the arc on the attempts a game. He’s also shooting 94 percent from the free throw line.

Ellenson has improved over just these seven games (what can happen if you actually give a guy minutes to improve).

Over the last three games of action, Ellenson is averaging 13.3 points a game, on 43 percent shooting from the field, and 40 percent from deep on 5(!) attempts a game.

Now, of course this is an incredibly small sample to go off of, but Ellenson himself has only been given a small sample to go off of.

Watching Ellenson over these last seven games, you see he has a good feel for the offensive side of the court. He has pretty good ball handle for a guy of his size (6’11”), as he’s gotten a defensive rebound and has taken it up the court himself several times.

He has good touch on the ball, and is just supremely skilled on the offensive end of the court. In the most recent game against the Raptors, and even some against the Grizzlies, I saw something I liked tremendously.

The Pistons have given him the ball in the post, instead of just pick-n-popping.

This is a huge question mark amongst Pistons fans, because the general consensus on Ellenson is that he needs to get stronger.

However, I saw him repeatedly in the post get to where he wanted to go, and show incredible footwork. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to get stronger, just means he has more strength now than a year ago which is an improvement.

I also didn’t expect him to be able to back people down in the post, it was good to see he has even more to his game on the offensive end.

Another aspect I’ve loved to see from Ellenson is that he’s not afraid to shoot the ball. He’s taken seven shots a game over the past seven games, and it has raised over the past three games to 9.3 attempts a game.

As my fellow PistonPowered writer @Joe_Truck tweeted, Elllenson per36 number look really well. The guy has potential to be a superb scorer in this league, especially with the way the League is going.

You need big guys who can ball handle, stretch the floor, and score.

Ellenson checks all those boxes, (also, follow @Joe_Truck if you want some good Pistons stuff. Good insight, and provides statistics with great perspective).

However, he still struggles on the defensive end of the court. He often finds himself jumping at pump-fakes, which leads to dribble penetration.

His closeouts aren’t the best either. He’s usually either running too fast and gives up penetration, or comes out too slow for a good contest.

Also, he’s usually a split second late on defensive rotations; which leads to miscommunication and oftentimes, an open three.

He’s likely never to be a good defender, but average or slightly below average should be expected. His offensive game is what should be getting him on the court, and I believe he’s proven he’s ready to fill the shoes of Tolliver next year.

After these last handful of games, and with another offseason to improve and get stronger, Ellenson should be ready and given a chance to be a clog in the rotation.

Just like the beginning of the year, he’s earned it.

Again.