The Detroit Pistons had 21 turnovers and just 16 assists in last night’s discouraging loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, with many of their shortcomings on full display.
The defense continues to be horrible and is currently the worst in franchise history, but Detroit has plenty of problems on offense as well, even though they are scoring more points per game overall than they did last season.
They are not a good passing team, and are among the worst in the NBA when it comes to stats like assists, passes per game and secondary assists. Obviously, losing Cade Cunningham for the season didn’t help, as it has thrust the other guards into unfamiliar roles, particularly rookie Jaden Ivey, who is being tasked with initiating the offense, especially of late with Killian Hayes serving a suspension.
Ivey’s shot selection and turnovers have been issues for the Detroit Pistons, especially of late, and he is on pace to lead all rookies in some dubious categories.
Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey’s turnovers
Ivey has struggled mightily with turnovers of late, especially in the games without Killian Hayes, as he racked up 14 turnovers to just 12 assists in the last three games.
Ivey has turned it over 3.5 times per game over the last eight games, and has brought his average up to 2.8 per game on the season. His 101 total turnovers are the most for any rookie, 11 more than the next guy, Rookie of the Year frontrunner Paolo Banchero, though Ivey has played in six more games.
You can put a lot of this on the fact that Ivey is playing more on the ball with Cunningham out, which is true. Ivey’s usage rate has gone up nearly five percentage points since Cade went out with injury. Ivey isn’t really a point guard, and he’s been unfairly thrust into this role due to circumstances.
But Ivey’s usage rate of 24.7 percent is lower than Banchero’s (28.2%) and Mathurin’s (25.7%) and those guys still have fewer overall turnovers. Yes, he’s in an uncomfortable role, but Ivey also has a problem of driving into traffic, not knowing when to kick out and trying to force spectacular passes that are high risk.
All of the NBA’s turnover leaders also happen to be the best players, but guys like Giannis and Luka are the focal point of their team’s offense and both have a usage rate of over 38 percent.
I have no doubt that Ivey will get better at these things, as all young guards go through this, and one bright spot of losing Cunningham is that he is being forced to do it without the pressure of the team trying to win games. But there is also a risk of developing bad habits, so it would be great to see Ivey making better decisions with the ball as the season progresses.