Detroit Pistons found a gem in Bruce Brown

The Detroit Pistons drafted Bruce Brown in the second round of this past draft. No one expected Brown to be helping the Pistons as much as he is right now.

When Luke Kennard was benched for Bruce Brown many people, including yours truly, were very skeptical of this decision by the Detroit Pistons.

After all, Kennard is probably the Detroit Pistons second best shooter on the team behind Reggie Bullock.

And for a team who ranks 29th in three point shooting percentage, but sixth in attempts, it didn’t make much sense to replace him with a 24 percent three point shooter.

It maybe still doesn’t make much sense.

However, you can’t argue with the results thus far.

The current starting lineup of Reggie Jackson, Brown, Bullock, Blake Griffin, and Andre Drummond has played 116 minutes together and are a +12.4 when on the court this year.

That is extraordinary, and something no one would’ve expected to happen.

Why is this happening?

Well, Brown actually has a significant impact on the lineup.

Brown gained his minutes in the rotation this year because he already was a pretty good defender. This was backed up, for example, when he guarded the likes of James Harden and Steph Curry, and did a pretty good job when checking these players.

The dude is freakishly athletic, and surprises a lot of his opponents with how fast he can jump off the ground and how high he gets, to either contest their shot or block them.

Combining his athleticism and his long arms, he knows how to be an irritant on defense for opposing teams.

The worry with playing Brown so much, let alone starting him, was his play on the offensive side of the ball.

He can’t shoot very well. As PistonPowered contributor Joe Truck has pointed out, he’s one of those players you’ve seen struggle to hit threes in warm-ups. If you are struggling to hit shots in warm-ups, you sure as hell aren’t going to be sparking it up in game.

In his last 15 games, he is shooting better than his season percentage of 24 percent from deep. On 1.9 attempts, Brown his shooting 32 percent from deep during that stretch.

That is not very good, but it signals something else significant.

Brown is simply getting much more confident in his game and his role in the offense.

With Griffin as your focal point, a lot of his teammates find themselves watching him post up, lacking any kind of movement on offense.

Now, whether that’s all the fault of the players or the fault of a coach having literally no system in place I seriously question, but either way the point stays the same. The Pistons need someone to create movement in the offense, because the players and the coaching staff clearly lack the sense to do so.

Brown attacks this very issue with the offense very well, as he is most likely the best cutter on the team. The good thing about Brown is that he understands he isn’t much of a shooter, and instead of standing around waiting for a three, he uses his athleticism to cut and create easy layups/dunks for himself.

Before the season, head coach Dwane Casey said that Brown had a future at point guard.

Obviously as a rookie, no one expected Brown to transition from a wing to a point guard his first season, or run any time at all at the one spot.

As time has went on, however, Brown has gotten more confident and comfortable in the offense.

He’s attempting and doing things that he would never have attempted to do early this season, or even a few weeks ago.

Take this clip for example.

As said above, Brown is not much of a shooter. He’s gaining confidence and is attempting more as the season goes on when he is open, but he still isn’t a very good shooter.

A few weeks ago, Brown wouldn’t have even thought about shooting a shot like this.

And this may not be a very good shot for him or the team at this point.

But, it shows how much more confident Brown is in his play and how much more comfortable he is in this offense.

With Brown’s defense being as good as it is, he understands he cannot be a complete zero on offense. As the season has played out, Brown is finding more and more ways to contribute on the offensive end and it’s helping the team tremendously.

Along with the willingness to cut and take the open three now, Brown is exhibiting the capability of beating his man off the dribble routinely.

His athleticism makes it possible to try and put guys on posters when he gets close to the rim, and he isn’t very scared to try it.

To be honest, Brown has really been showing off his raw skills since becoming the starter for the Pistons.

Not only is he driving to the rim, and attempting poster like the clip above, he’s showcasing why Casey thinks he has a future at point guard.

In the clip above, he beats Kyle Anderson off the dribble. Anderson is a high level defender, so Brown beating him off the dribble this easily with a simple jab step shows how quick he is.

Instead of making a typical rookie mistake and forcing up a runner or picking up a charging foul trying to go all the way to the rim, Brown makes a pretty cross court pass to Jackson standing in the corner.

Wanna know what’s funny about this play?

Brown literally does the exact same thing in the next quarter.

He beats Anderson again off the dribble using a simple jab step, and wisely throws another pretty cross court pass to Jackson in the corner. This time, Jackson drills it and they cut the lead to two.

Lastly, Brown exhibits his composure here and calmly attacks the closeout with a drive.

He stays under control the whole drive, not going too fast and surveys the floor.

Brown draws four Milwaukee defenders inside the paint, and kicks out to a wide open Jackson on the wing for a three.

The Detroit Pistons need some more movement in the offense.

The Detroit Pistons need some more motion in their offense.

The Detroit Pistons need some more ball handling and play-making in their offense.

The Detroit Pistons need some defensive swag on the perimeter.

Brown is helping put duck tape on these holes, and it’s helping the Pistons starting lineup.

Whether the lack of shooting in the lineup ends up biting them where the sun don’t shine, we’ll find out.

Until then, appreciate what Brown is doing for the Detroit Pistons as a rookie.

Watch how quickly he’s become comfortable on the court, and how much confidence he’s showing on the court.

Then, remember the Pistons drafted him in the second round.

The Detroit Pistons may have actually drafted a gem and he’s helping this team stay afloat.