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

Detroit Pistons: What Jaden Ivey can learn from Ja Morant

Floater vs. finishes at the rim

Like Morant, Ivey is a very good finisher at the rim, as he can sky for dunks and also has a bag of acrobatic shots in his arsenal.

But not everything has to be at the rim.

We’ve seen Morant take a pounding in his first three seasons as he drives right into defenders and tries to dunk on their heads. While this is great for the highlight reels, it’s not great for the body and isn’t always the most effective shot.

We see Morant pulling up for floaters much more often now, and it works, as defenders have to respect his ability to finish at the rim and will often sag just enough to leave that floater open.

Ivey did this well once last night, pulling up for an 7-8 foot floater and nailing it early in the second half, but more often than not he tried to get all the way to the rim, which isn’t always going to be there in the half court, especially when teams are going to sag into the paint against the shooting-challenged Detroit Pistons.

Morant spent most of his first two seasons trying to finish everything at the rim, but we’re seeing him pull up for floaters and runners a lot more now, which not only keeps defenses guessing, but saves some of the wear and tear on his body.

Ivey is already starting to incorporate this into his game, which you love to see, as he has the ability to be deadly in the paint.