Detroit Pistons: 3 things Jaden Ivey can learn from Ja Morant

Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons got his first head-to-head matchup against Ja Morant last night and it was a learning experience for the rookie.

He definitely learned some things on the court, Tweeting after the game “You either win or you learn” and also had a nice exchange with Morant on Twitter shortly after.

Ivey has been compared to Morant (among others) and if you squinted hard enough during last night’s game, you might have gotten them confused, as Ivey had a few moments that looked a lot like Ja:

Even though Ivey was inconsistent shooting the ball during preseason, he was one of the bright spots and showed flashes of being ahead of schedule as a rookie, especially when it comes to play making.

Jaden Ivey plays out of control at times as he is still learning to harness his incredible speed, but if you look back to film of Morant’s rookie season, you’ll see many of the same mistakes. Now Morant is entering his 4th year and is already an MVP candidate, which is exactly where Ivey wants to be.

There are definitely things that Ivey can pick up from watching Morant, whose game has evolved a ton since his rookie season.

Detroit Pistons: What Jaden Ivey can learn from Ja Morant

Be patient

This is actually one area where I thought Ivey looked better than expected, but he still needs to work on knowing when to explode and when to hold back.

If you watch film of rookie Morant, he did the same exact thing, often trying to exploit gaps with his quickness but ending up driving into the teeth of the defense for a blocked shot or turnover.

If you watch Morant now, he is much better at picking his spots to explode and knowing when to use hesitation moves, how to get the defender on his back and when to pull up and kick out to the open shooter.

Ivey had three turnovers last night when he tried to explode through small gaps only to find defenders waiting. This may have worked on college defenders that Ivey could simply finish over or through, but it won’t work in the NBA, so this is something he can learn from year four Morant, who now has a much better feel for when to use his speed.