Jaden Ivey made big strides as a shooter in his 30 games for the Detroit Pistons last season, but for him to make a star leap, he has to develop a floater and get more efficient in the mid-range.
Ivey shot over 45 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-point shots last season and over 41 percent on long-range shots overall. We need to see that for a full season, but those are the types of numbers that will play well off the ball with Cade Cunningham.
Trajan Langdon thinks Ivey’s return will be the biggest addition of the offseason, and if he makes a big leap next season, the Pistons may have the four players they are going to build around for the foreseeable future.
Zach Lowe and Nekias Duncan were excited to talk about Jaden Ivey and what he means to the Pistons in a recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show with Duncan saying Ivey needs to develop a floater to become more of a scoring threat in the paint, which will also open up passing lanes that have largely been close to Ivey so far, leading to copious turnovers.
The numbers back it up, and a floater/mid-range improvement from Ivey could be the key to unlocking the Pistons’ offense.
Jaden Ivey in the mid-range
Ivey has no problem getting past defenders but often got trapped in the netherworld of passing and shooting once he got into the mid-range, which led to inefficiency and turnovers.
Ivey shot just 41 percent on shots between 5-9 feet and just 33 percent on shots between 10-14 feet, which accounted for around three attempts per game.
It shows that he is not only missing these shots, but isn’t taking many of them, especially from the “floater area” of 5-9 feet, an element he needs to add to his game.
If Ivey is more of a threat to score from that area, it should open up passing lanes for cutters like Ausar Thompson, who proved himself valuable in that role in the playoffs.
Ivey is a willing passer, but he hasn’t been great at it in traffic, a problem he can help himself by getting and making more shots in the paint.
For a point of reference, Cade Cunningham averaged right around seven shots per game between 5-14 feet and made 48 percent of them. If Ivey can get anywhere near those numbers, the Pistons will have a weapon with Ivey attacking when Cade has to give it up out of traps.
The 3-point shooting is great, and hopefully sustainable, but Ivey will be far more dangerous overall if he adds some kind of pull-up/floater in the lane.