Isaiah Stewart has been one of the bright spots for a Detroit Pistons team that has started the season with just two wins in nine games.
Fans tend to focus on the negative when it comes to Stewart and overlook the things he does well, so will focus on the 27 percent shooting from 3-point range and ignore that he has been one of Detroit’s most reliable players.
He shows up defensively every night and has been one of the only Pistons crashing the boards since rookie Jalen Duren went down with injury. He’s had a lot on his plate this season while trying to expand his game to the 3-point line, so it’s not shocking that he’s gotten off to an inconsistent start shooting the ball.
But I think fans forget that Isaiah Stewart is just 21-years-old, and if you’ve been paying attention over the last four games, you saw a guy who still has a lot of untapped potential.
Detroit Pistons: Isaiah Stewart putting up big numbers
So far this season, Isaiah Stewart is averaging 13.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and just 27 percent from 3-point range.
Teams are still mostly leaving him alone out there, but they won’t for long, as Stewart has been knocking them down at a 36.6 percent clip over the last four games.
In that time he is averaging 17 points, 10.5 rebounds and shooting 56 percent from the floor.
Not only that, but Stewart seems to have listened to the criticism about his screening, as he has been setting better picks and getting more attention when he rolls to the hoop, which has helped Cade Cunningham find space in the mid-range, where he is increasingly deadly.
Stewart is getting to the line more, and has really been the Pistons’ lone source of toughness and defense, whether he is in the paint or on the perimeter.
A quality defender who will get you a double/double every night and knock down a few 3-point shots is pretty much exactly what we hoped Beef Stew would evolve into this season, and he has not disappointed over the last four games.
He continues to work hard and improve and currently looks to be the most valuable player out of the three the Pistons chose in the 2020 NBA Draft.