The Detroit Pistons were missing two starters and another rotation player tonight against the Cavaliers, but they gutted out a win behind a brilliant night from Daniss Jenkins, who scored 21 points in the 2nd quarter, one shy of the Pistons’ record.
Javonte Green also played a key role, hitting some clutch threes and playing solid defense on Donovan Mitchell in crunch time. If you would have told me before the season that Jenkins and Green would be playing key minutes for the Pistons, I would have thought something went horribly wrong, but both guys have played huge roles for Detroit, and they are still atop the Eastern Conference.
While it’s nice to have depth, Jenkins' performance does shine a brighter light on Jaden Ivey, who hasn’t been terrible since his return, but he’s been a non-factor in most games. Fans do need to extend more patience to Ivey, who has been put in a tough spot, but it’s hard to ignore the eyeball test when watching him play.
He hasn’t had the same assertiveness or burst and has resorted to being mostly a jump shooter. He has shot the 3-ball well, but that initial burst with the ball in his hands hasn’t been there.
Ivey’s injury really was a setback in many ways, as it cost him so much valuable time with a team that seems to have moved on without him. With the question of his fit still lingering, Ivey’s future in Detroit is unclear.
Jaden Ivey has time, but the clock is ticking
The Pistons are in a tough spot, as they are trying to win the East and don’t have time to put training wheels on Jaden Ivey, as there are other guys on their bench who are playing well.
I will say that Ivey’s defense has been much improved this season, and he was part of the big second quarter run Detroit went on. It’s not that Ivey has been that bad, he’s just been mostly non-existent on the offensive end.
Meanwhile, Daniss Jenkins and Marcus Sasser are both playing with confidence, and both are providing more than Ivey is presently, which puts coach JB Bickerstaff in a tough spot. It wasn’t a great vote of confidence tonight when Ivey didn’t crack the starting lineup or even play 20 minutes when Cleveland had to go small because of injuries of their own.
It also puts Trajan Langdon in a tough spot, as Ivey is not a player teams are going to be excited to trade for right now, and it will be difficult to make him the centerpiece payoff in a trade for an impact scorer.
The good news is that Ivey still has time to assert himself, and should get his chances with multiple starters out, but at some point, coach Bickerstaff will have tough choices to make in the rotation, and Daniss Jenkins isn’t making it any easier by continuing to play well when given the opportunity.