JB Bickerstaff's blind spot could haunt the Pistons in the playoffs

NBA coaches can be stubborn, and that has certainly been the case for head coach JB Bickerstaff when it comes to Caris LeVert. 

I should start this by saying that I am not a LeVert hater, nor am I trying to jump on the unreasonable bandwagon that tries to make him the scapegoat for everything. This seems to happen to some player every year (last year it was Simone Fontecchio) and it usually follows the same pattern, which is that fans choose a lesser used role player, put him under a microscope and blame him for everything. 

LeVert did not play well in last night’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, but neither did Cade Cunningham, so there was plenty of blame to go around.  

This has less to do with LeVert and more with coach JB Bickerstaff’s unwillingness or inability to adjust to the moment at times, something that could haunt them in the playoffs, especially if LeVert ends up playing more than Ausar Thompson, as he did last night. 

JB Bickerstaff wants to get his guy going, but at what cost? 

I’m not saying that JB Bickerstaff is playing favorites, but he does have a longstanding relationship with LeVert that dates back to their days in Cleveland, and he does seem to have an inordinate amount of trust in him considering LeVert has not had a good season. 

I get it, Bickerstaff wants to get his guy going, and LeVert could end up being important for a team that is desperate for a second ball handler and scorer. The problem is that there has been scant evidence this season that LeVert is that guy. 

He’s shooting the lowest percentage of his career. After adding four more turnovers last night, he’s now averaging half as many turnovers per game as assists, which is not good. LeVert was acquired in part to handle the ball when Cade is out, and he’s not done a good job of it, often overdribbling, turning the ball over and taking bad shots. 

When LeVert gets hot, he can fill it up, but that has not happened this season, and there is little evidence it is going to. I am not privy to what is happening behind the scenes, but the eye test says LeVert hasn’t been right all season, yet there he was playing 21 minutes last night while Ausar Thompson sat on the bench. 

Bickerstaff has no patience for Ausar, who seems to get pulled every time he makes a mistake, but the veteran LeVert is out there night after night even though he isn’t providing much. 

Why not give Marcus Sasser a shot? How about Kevin Huerter, the guy the Pistons traded Jaden Ivey to get? Surely either of these guys could have been useful on a night when Detroit was struggling to score. 

I don’t get too worked up over one loss, especially when the Pistons didn’t play particularly well and were still in it, but this blind spot of JB Bickerstaff's is concerning, especially after he used Thompson just 22 minutes per game in the playoffs last season.