Pistons fans have been clamoring for rookie Ebuka Okorie to get ample opportunities this season following a brilliant preseason campaign. Okorie's absence in Detroit's rotation for the season opener stood out, even more so considering the relative ineffectiveness of backup point guard Daniss Jenkins. Jenkins arguably helped Okorie get some minutes by being mediocre in his minutes on Tuesday.
Jenkins didn't have a great first game
Jenkins finished the game with some decent impact stats, as the Pistons won his 15 minutes by 4 points. But that success was largely due to the excellence of other bench players, especially standout Javonte Green. Even when the Pistons were rolling, Jenkins wasn't doing too much to help.
The Pistons clearly needed more secondary ball-handling whenever Cade Cunningham was off the court. Jenkins didn't help too much in that regard, since his drives largely resulted in nothing but resets for the offense. Detroit did make a point to emphasize Ausar Thompson as a primary initiator in some of those minutes, but Jenkins was still unimpressive even without Ausar on the court.
Jenkins ended the game with 3 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Credit where credit is due, those 2 rebounds were very important since they came on the offensive glass and got the Pistons second-chance points. But Jenkins was still lackluster in his primary role of adding more offensive firepower off the bench.
Okorie can provide a spark that Jenkins can't
On the other hand, Okorie might be able to get his own offense going more effectively because of his self-creation ability. He might not be as good of a pure shooter as Jenkins, but Okorie is much better at getting to his spots with his impressive handle. Jenkins doesn't have the same sleek dribbling and craft to finish in different ways inside the arc.
A simple look at Jenkins' field goal attempts from Tuesday will show that he struggled to create any separation unless he had an advantage off a kickout. Okorie is known for his ability to create space even from tight defense. The Pistons will need that weapon in their back pocket this season for the playoffs and moments when Cunningham or Jalen Duren aren't on the court.
It's certainly understandable why Okorie didn't touch the floor in game 1 of the new season. He is an unproven rookie after all, and the Pistons were doing everything they could to get a win over a conference rival. For most of the game, the Celtics had a double-digit lead, which forced Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff to fall back on his veteran bench pieces to mount a comeback. But in future games, especially against lesser opponents, Okorie needs to get a shot.
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