Detroit Pistons: What if Brandon Jennings never tore his Achilles?
By Eli Bashi
Detroit Pistons: Brandon Jennings had a magical but short run
In 14 games in December, Jennings was averaging 9.3 ppg, on .324/.273 shooting splits. In the Josh Smith-less month of January, Jennings averaged 20.9 ppg, on .435/.388 shooting splits, as well as doubling his three point attempts and makes. He was an absolute maestro with the ball in his hands and was a joy to watch. Fans felt like they finally found their point guard of the future for the first time since Chauncey Billups was on the team.
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One of the more memorable games of the 15 that Jennings played after the Smith trade was against the Orlando Magic on January 15th, 2015, a game that put the Detroit Pistons in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, firmly in the playoff hunt, after being 14th for much of the season, just ahead of the process 76ers.
The Pistons dominated the Magic, beating them 128 to 118 at The Palace. In this game Andre Drummond boasted a stat-line of 26 points and 17 rebounds, which would have been the best performance of the night, if not for a 24 point, 21 assist night from Brandon Jennings. If you’re a fan of the alley-oop, they were on display all night. Jennings had the ball on a string, dishing it to his big men in the pick and roll and in transition in every point guard’s dream of a basketball game.
It was one of the most entertaining games of the decade for the Pistons and fans finally thought things would be back on a rise. But as happens in Detroit sports, disaster must soon follow every high point.