Detroit Pistons: Best and worst-case scenarios for the guards

Best and worst-case scenarios for the Detroit Pistons’ guards

Jaden Ivey

Best-case scenario

We know Ivey is an athletic freak with tremendous end-to-end speed, so I expect him to be good in transition right away. But for him to win Rookie of the Year, he needs to show that he can shoot well enough to keep defenses honest in the half court. In his best case, he also shows signs of being an elite defender, which allows Cade to take on bigger, slower guards or wings on defense.

Ivey is efficient from the floor, is close to leading all rookies in steals and takes home Rookie of the Year.

Worst-case scenario

Barring injury, I don’t think there is any scenario where Ivey isn’t a very exciting player, so the worst case is that he is wildly inconsistent and inefficient. Detroit was a very bad shooting team last season, so teams are going to force Ivey to show that he can shoot from the mid range and 3-point line and not let him beat them off the dribble. In the worst case, he shoots a poor percentage, and never really gets comfortable playing off the ball, which leads to speculation about whether he is a good fit with Cade Cunningham.

Cade Cunningham

Best-case scenario

The best case for Cade is that he stays healthy all season and builds on what he did down the stretch, where he put up elite all-around numbers. He shoots a much higher percentage from 3-point range, which opens up his mid-range and post game even more, leading to him averaging 22-25 points per game while adding six rebounds and six assists.

He makes the All-Star team in his second season and leads the Detroit Pistons to a much-better record than people expect.

Worst-case scenario

The worst case would be marginal or no improvement when it comes to efficiency, which was really Cade’s only flaw last season. In this scenario, Cade shoots a similar percentage from the field, scores more but has to take more shots to get his points. He starts to lose confidence and fans start to question whether the Pistons should have taken Evan Mobley or Scottie Barnes with the number one pick.

I am going on the record right now to say this is not going to happen and that Cade will meet or exceed the best-case scenario.