Detroit Pistons player preview: Expectations for Henry Ellenson

2 of 7

DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 24: Henry Ellenson #8 of the Detroit Pistons handles the ball before the game against the Utah Jazz on January 24, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Career up to this point

To answer that question, let’s look at the opportunity Henry Ellenson has seen in the regular season.

While 475 minutes across two seasons seems like a reasonable amount of time to assess whether or he’s even a good back-up, Ellenson hasn’t been given a fair shake when it comes to playing time.

What do I mean by this? Well, if you look at the game logs for his first two seasons, you’ll notice that there’s only been two occurrences where Ellenson has appeared in more than three consecutive games. In both cases, they came at the end of the season.

The end of 2017-18 saw his longest stretch of consecutive games played, appearing in the final eight. He’s played for less than 10 minutes in 39 of his 57 career games.

This has made it very difficult for Ellenson to establish any sort of rhythm, or even find his role on the team.

Not to excuse any of his bad performances (he’s been a terrible defender, which we’ll get to), but when you’re given a major, back-up role for a game or two, then pulled for one, then inserted back in a game or two later, and then receive 10 Did Not Plays (DNPs) – it’s hard to establish anything.

When the majority of the minutes you’re given are under 10 per game, it’s also tough to make any kind of meaningful impact.

Home/Pistons News