Caris LeVert has been taking plenty of heat from Detroit Pistons fans lately for his ineffective play and JB Bickerstaff took a minute to stick up for his guy.
Coach Bickerstaff had this to say about LeVert in a recent meeting with the press: "One of the most adaptable players I’ve ever been around. You ask him to play so many different roles, and he has throughout his career, and he just figures out a way to make it work. And I think, without being over-imposing, if that makes sense, he leads by example, and people see that. He’s going to help you be a better basketball club. He’s going to help you be a better basketball coach.”
I get what coach Bickerstaff is doing here. He sees LeVert is struggling (I hope) and wants to pump his guy up a bit.
I support this idea, as the Pistons do need LeVert, which has become clear as the bench has struggled lately. But LeVert has been a big part of that struggle and still doesn’t have a role even though we are in the home stretch of the season.
He’s not had a signature game that made you say, “oh yeah, THAT’s why the Pistons signed him,” and I can’t for the life of me even remember the last time he scored double digits. I had to look it up, it was January 17th.
This is supposed to be one of the Pistons’ primary bench scorers, but he’s scored in double digits just 13 times all season and almost all of them were in the beginning. You can blame injuries (fair play), but we’re well past the point of this not being concerning.
Fans were already worried when coach Bickerstaff stubbornly said he’s sticking with this rotation, but this new offering about LeVert is truly baffling.
JB Bickerstaff is not going to change on Caris LeVert
I have no problem at all with coach Bickerstaff trying to give his guy a vote of confidence, but it’s what he didn’t say that has me worried.
He could have at least acknowledged that LeVert is struggling amidst all of this praise, as Pistons fans watching this had to be wondering if they and JB were watching the same guy.
It felt like a fair bit of gaslighting, but the more concerning thing is that it doesn’t sound like LeVert is going anywhere.
This isn’t all about LeVert, the Pistons have other players who deserve a chance to prove they can at least be a net positive to the team. They traded Jaden Ivey for Kevin Huerter in part to add more shooting, but the guy hasn’t left the bench.
Same with Marcus Sasser. Even rookie Chaz Lanier could bring some much-needed spacing and life to the offense.
There were plenty of people who questioned the LeVert signing right away, but once he was on the team, hoped for the best. That hasn’t happened, and it appears JB Bickerstaff is the only one who doesn’t realize it.