Every Detroit Pistons’ best game of the 2018-19 season

Luke Kennard

Kennard will never be Donovan Mitchell, and Pistons fans should be okay with that. What Kennard lacks in vertical leap and fancy acrobatic layups, he makes up for with his smooth shot creation and honey sweet shooting stroke.

Last season Casey implemented a new offense with the modern philosophy of getting lots of threes and dunks in mind. The Pistons bought in to coach Casey’s new philosophy as the Pistons were ranked sixth in 3-pointers attempted per game (34.8) in the 2018-19 season. While the commitment towards executing a more modern analytically mindful play style is a positive, the Pistons ranked just 23rd in team three point percentage (35 percent).

On a team that is taking a lot of three pointers but not necessarily making them at a high rate, Kennard’s career 40 percent 3-point stroke is an absolute luxury to have on a rookie scale contract.

Piston’s fans were hoping Kennard would come into the season with a stranglehold on the starting shooting guard spot and run away with it. With the surprise emergence of Brown as the regular starter at the position for the Pistons, Kennard found himself mostly coming off the bench in a sixth man role.

While some may be frustrated that an efficient scorer like Kennard is coming off the bench behind a pretty much non-factor on offense in Brown, with the current roster construction it may be in both the Pistons and Kennard’s best interest for him to come off the bench for the immediate future.

Kennard is not a one dimensional player. On top of his great shooting he is a solid play maker and shot creator. When Kennard plays in the starting lineup, he is generally the third or fourth option to score. With these other great scoring options in the starting lineup with him, Kennard gets less touches and turns primarily into a spot up shooter which is not utilizing the entirety of his game.

He is the type of player who deserves to have the ball in his hands and make plays for the rest of his team. When he is in the starting lineup alongside Jackson and Griffin he is unable to do so as they do the majority of the play making for the team. However, insert Kennard into the bench as the sixth man and you’ll get an entirely different player.

Kennard off the bench is a more confident player who will hit shots and set up his teammates to do the same. From season’s beginning to season’s end Kennard took a jump in all of the three major recorded statistics (5.7 points per game in October to 11.8 in April; 1.0 assists to 2.0 assists; 1.7 rebounds to 3.2) and when the playoffs came with Griffin out, Kennard shined the brightest averaging 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.

Kennard’s best game of the season came against the Philadelphia 76ers when he went off for 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. While he did not explode on the scene taking over a franchise from day one like Mitchell did, Kennard is a rising star in this league and will have himself a fine career.

Best Game of Season:

• 12/10/2018 vs PHI – 28 points / 3 assists / 8 rebounds (11/18 field goals; 5/8 three pointers; 1/2 free throws)

Other Notable Games:

• 04/10/2019  vs NYK 27 points / 2 assists / 5 rebounds (9/14 field goals; 4/8 three pointers;  5/5 free throws)
• 03/02/2019 vs CLE 26 points / 1 assist / 5 rebounds (10/15 field goals; 6/7 three pointers)