Jerami Grant had a break out season for the Detroit Pistons but he knows he can do more.
Grant is one of three finalists for the Most Improved Player award, and even though he is unlikely to win, it is nice to see that someone noticed the season he had in Detroit.
But Grant wants to be more than just an MIP candidate, as he said in a recent interview, he wants to be an All-Star and one of the best players in the NBA.
Can Grant get there? If you look at this year’s All-Stars, there are definitely a couple that Grant could supplant if he can make improvements in certain areas.
Here are three things Jerami Grant needs to improve if he wants to make the All-Star team next season.
Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant needs to be more durable
The Pistons sat Grant for most of the home stretch with a dubious “injury” that probably had a lot more to do with them not wanting to win games.
I totally understand, as the Pistons were trying to secure the best possible odds at a number one pick in the NBA Draft, but it was also a shame, as sitting those games probably cost Grant a realistic chance at the Most Improved Player Award.
He improved more than Julius Randle, but Randle played in 71 games and Grant only played 54 for the Detroit Pistons.
Part of this was the Pistons’ tanking, but the other part was that Grant took a ton of hard fouls this season and had to carry a lot more of the burden than he ever had in his career.
Dwane Casey has tasked Grant with getting stronger in the offseason, saying,
"“One thing Jerami has to do is continue to work on being stronger, to be able to take the hits that he’s getting hit with, finish at the rim, which he did a good job with this year,” Casey said. “That takes a wear and tear on your body if you’re not really physically ready for it. He’s committed to the gym this summer. Get stronger in his upper body, his legs so he can take those hits.”"
If Grant is going to be the number one scoring option for the Detroit Pistons then he has to be ready to absorb a beating physically. Hopefully next season Grant will be ready for this role and will play in all of the Pistons’ games, which he’ll have to if he wants to make the All-Star team.
Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant’s passing
Jerami Grant’s passing did improve quite a lot this season, as it was his first being the primary playmaker for his team.
His assist rate of 14 percent was pretty good for a forward and probably would have been much higher had he had more teammates who could actually shoot the ball.
He did average a career-high 2.8 assists but when you look at his 27.8 percent usage rate, those assist numbers don’t look too impressive. Randle had a slightly higher usage rage and racked up six assists per game, so Grant has to get better.
Grant had the ball in his hands a lot and did a good job of getting into the lane for his own shot or to draw fouls, but he didn’t do a great job passing out of double teams or kicking out to open shooters.
Like I said, they missed a lot of the shots when he did kick out, so this isn’t all on Jerami Grant, but he definitely needs to work on getting rid of the ball faster, making quicker decisions and finding his teammates for those open looks.
Hopefully the Pistons will find some shooters this offseason who can help turn more of those passes into assists, but Grant also needs to get better at passing out of traffic after he collapses the defense with dribble penetration.
Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant’s offensive rebounding
For a player who is 6-foot-8 and plays a lot of time at power forward, Jerami Grant is not a great rebounder, which is another thing that separated him from Julius Randle when it came to the MIP award.
Randle averaged 10.2 a game while Grant only averaged 4.6 total rebounds per game, which puts him 18th among small forwards.
Grant has to grab more rebounds and if he wants to make the All-Star team, he has to get that number closer to seven a game.
But where he needs the big improvement is on the offensive glass, as he averages less than one offensive rebound per game.
Grant is far too good an athlete and has too high a motor to not get more rebounds on the offensive end, which often lead to easy buckets.
Rebounding was one of the Pistons’ biggest weaknesses this season and part of that is because their starting power forward gets fewer than five a game.
Grant has to be more aggressive on the offensive glass, to get that number closer to two per game, which will help him get a few easier baskets as well.
Jerami Grant is very close to being an All-Star for the Detroit Pistons and will get there if he can play more games, improve as a passer and grab a few more rebounds.