One thing we needed to see this season for the Detroit Pistons was improved defense from their two young guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
It was one of the biggest question marks about their long-term fit, as neither guy is an elite defender and it would be difficult to even call either one of them “average” early in their careers.
But Cade is using his size more effectively to block shots, especially in clutch time, where he leads the entire NBA.
Ivey has also been more engaged on that end and is finally using his speed in effective ways on defense.
Their individual improvement has been part of a larger movement that has the Pistons in the top-10 in defensive rating after finishing near the bottom of the league just last season.
Ivey’s play drew some recent praise from coach JB Bickerstaff, who has found a way to use Ivey’s speed to his advantage on defense.
Jaden Ivey’s “head of the snake mentality” on defense
One thing I noticed immediately in preseason was that Ivey was regularly picking up guards full court, which I loved.
Ivey is not a great individual or team defender yet and he may never be. He still gets caught flat-footed at times and can be abused in the pick-and-roll, but coach Bickerstaff has found a way to mitigate that, which he talked about in a recent press conference:
"...And then he (Ivey) picks up full-court most possessions. So he’s setting that head of the snake mentality for our defense as well.”
If nothing else, Ivey can bother players with his speed and force the other team’s lead ballhandler to use energy just to get over the halfcourt line.
It eats into the opponent’s time in the half-court offense and forces his man to give the ball up early, which makes it much more difficult to target Ivey early in possessions.
That energy and pressure on ballhandlers has been infectious, as we’ve seen Ivey and Beasley feed off one another defensively, which I did not expect. Beasley, like Ivey, is not a great individual defender, but he’s crafty and will pick a pocket if teams get careless. He’s been a positive influence on Ivey and it is showing in their joint effort in the second unit.
Ivey has gotten plenty of attention for his increased scoring and improved shooting, but he’s also making baby steps on the defensive end by pressuring the ball and being the “head” of the Pistons’ defense.