Jaden Ivey scored 15 points last night on 6-of-8 shooting in one of his best outings of the season, but he still only played 17 minutes.
I’ve stayed in the middle of the Ivey debate, as I think some fans have been overly impatient with a guy who is coming back from tough injuries, but others have overly defensive about anyone talking critically of his game.
I’ve mostly liked the way JB Bickerstaff has worked Ivey back in while still allowing other contributors to get minutes. Coach Bickerstaff has ridden the hot hand successfully many times this season, which is one of the benefits of having a deep roster.
But now that Jaden Ivey is off a minutes’ limitation (at least according to him), I do wonder why he isn’t getting the same treatment in games like last night, when he was rolling and the offense was struggling.
I’m not sure what JB Bickerstaff is doing with Jaden Ivey and Caris LeVert
Several times this season, coach JB Bickerstaff has gone with guys like Daniss Jenkins or Javonte Green when they had things rolling, and he should. I am a firm believer that the best players should play and when you are talking about the role guys, that can vary from night to night.
With that said, I’m not sure why Ivey only played 17 minutes last night when the rest of the bench was terrible, and the Pistons were struggling to score in the half court. Ivey had some nice takes early, including a smooth pull-up mid-range and even though he’s still not blowing by defenders, he was at least getting to his spots against the Suns and knocking down the shots.
I also don’t get why Ivey is playing almost exclusively with Caris LeVert, considering they’ve been one of the Pistons’ worst duos with a –1.1 net rating on the season.
Compare that to Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, who are +13.4 this season when playing together.
When Ivey and LeVert share the floor, they also share the point guard duties, which has not been effective, as neither of them are very good at it. Both guys clearly benefit from playing with a creator, and the offense came to a standstill last night every time they were on the court together.
With all of the injuries, it makes sense that coach Bickerstaff would run a deeper rotation, and that is fine for the regular season, but at some point, the Pistons are going to need a consistent second scorer, and Ivey may be their best option.
But that’s not going to happen with him playing 17 minutes, most of them with another ill-fitting ball handler. Whether the Pistons are going to trade Ivey or not, it would benefit them from getting him more minutes, at least in games when he’s got the hot hand.