The Detroit Pistons are heading toward a disastrous end to an otherwise excellent season. Cade Cunningham is an MVP candidate and Detroit is No. 1 in the Eastern Conference at 42-14, but teams are catching on to how limited the Pistons' list of shot creators truly is—and an inability to prove them wrong could spell an early exit from the playoffs.
If anyone on the roster can save the Pistons from a seemingly inevitable outcome, it's the individual whose immediate game and upside is still relatively unknown: Daniss Jenkins.
Detroit has a talented roster, but the book has already been written on what it can expect of its shot creators in 2025-26. Tobias Harris, Caris LeVert, and Duncan Robinson are in their 30s with known reputations, thus effectively ruling the veterans out of a leap beyond what they currently offer.
Ron Holland and Ausar Thompson have both shown flashes of potential, but neither is in the realm of combining volume and efficiency at this stage of their scoring and playmaking development.
Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart offer value inside, but the Pistons' big issue is creating from the perimeter. Of Detroit's top five players in drives per game, Cunningham is the only one shooting better than 44.4 percent. He's also the only Piston averaging at least 3.2 assists per game.
Thankfully, Jenkins is still a relatively unknown commodity who has at least flashed the ability to fill the void that no other Pistons player has been able to.
Pistons' Daniss Jenkins can offer Cade Cunningham shot creation relief
Jenkins currently ranks second on the Pistons in assists and potential assists per game. He's also second on the team in drives and passes via drives per game, as well as third in pull-up field goals made and points via drives per contest.
That alone would offer reason to believe he can help resolve this issue, but what truly seals his status as a viable option is that he's achieved those ranks in just 17.0 minutes per game.
Translate the numbers and Jenkins checks in at 12.3 drives and 5.5 points via drives per 36 minutes. The second-year guard would also jump to 6.6 assists and 12.1 potential assists per 36 minutes. Each of those numbers puts him in the range of a legitimate No. 2 shot creator.
Compounded by the fact that Jenkins provides off-ball value with 1.4 catch-and-shoot three-point field goals made per 36 minutes on 47.0 percent shooting, there's clear upside to consider.
The question facing the Pistons is whether or not they believe in Jenkins' current form enough to increase his playing time. He's averaging 16.9 points and 6.3 assists per 36 minutes since Jan. 1 and Detroit desperately needs that very type of perimeter production to ensure Cunningham isn't swarmed by defenses that know no one else can consistently score on them.
It's a lot to ask of a second-year player who's only recently received significant playing time, but Jenkins is the only Pistons player who can save them from their fate.