Detroit Pistons: 4 things to look for in the Summer League
The Detroit Pistons haven’t had the most exciting offseason, but Summer League will soon remind fans that the hope for this teams lies in its young talent.
Summer League will be our first chance to see rookies Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser, as well as the progress made by players like Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and James Wiseman.
The Pistons should have a very motivated team with so many young guys competing for minutes, so even though these games are ultimately meaningless, they are the first (and sometimes last) chance some players have to make an impression.
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Summer League is also the last basketball we are going to get until the preseason, so fans will be soaking it up and keeping an eye on certain players and dynamics. Here are four things to look for when Summer League tips off tomorrow evening.
Detroit Pistons: 4 things to look for in the Summer League
#1: The chemistry between Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren
Cade Cunningham will not be playing in Summer League but both Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are on the Pistons’ Summer League roster.
They probably won’t play a lot, but we should at least get a glimpse of the things they’ve been working on so far this summer. One of the only bright spots from last season was the budding chemistry between the two, as more of Ivey’s assists went to Duren than to any other Piston.
Ivey averaged nearly seven assists per game in the final 20 games of the season, and many of them were lobs to Duren. Given Ivey’s ability to draw defenders with his speed, the opportunities are going to be there for Duren rolling to the hoop, so hopefully we’ll see continued development from these two in their short run in Summer League.