The Pistons could not manage a win in Game 1 against the Magic despite Cade Cunningham's heroics because he didn't get enough help from his teammates. One of the worst-performing Pistons in the game was Daniss Jenkins, who had a miserable night in his first postseason action. Detroit will need much more from him if they want to reach their playoff ambitions and have him play a big role in the rotation.
Daniss Jenkins needs to be much better for the Pistons
Jenkins finished the game with just 6 points in 22 minutes while shooting 1-of-7 from the field. Unfortunately, this continued a concerning trend of him playing poorly alongside Cade. For whatever reason, Jenkins struggles to find the same confidence and rhythm when the Pistons star guard is also active.
He wasn't the only Piston to disappoint in Game 1, but Jenkins will absolutely need to improve for the Pistons to have any shot in this or future series. Not only did he miss most of his shots, but he also frequently settled for bad looks. Whenever he took a contested three, it completely killed a Pistons possession.
Some of it may have also been nerves for Jenkins. Keep in mind that just a few months ago he was playing most of his games in the G-League. Now he's playing on the huge stage of the NBA Playoffs with huge expectations on himself and the team.
Jenkins' nerves showed at the free-throw line, where he shot just 3-of-6. This included a miss in the final 4 minutes that kept the game out of reach for the Pistons. On the season, Jenkins shot 82% from the line and was consistently composed whenever he took free throws. But the pressure of the playoffs is another animal entirely.
Jenkins will have chances to bounce back
Even though Jenkins did take some bad shots, he also missed a few completely open looks. Given his intense levels of preparation that got him to this point in the first place, he seems bound to bounce back if given the same looks again. Playing alongside Cade will give Jenkins more opportunities to get himself going with easy shots.
And Jenkins can also lean into the Pistons' defensive team identity to build momentum. He averaged a steal per game and was deadly in transition, just like many of his other teammates, in the regular season. The Pistons were still solid defensively against the Magic and can find more offensive success if they're able to turn stops into buckets.
In his first playoff experience, Daniss Jenkins had a poor performance. But this series is far from over and Jenkins will have plenty of opportunity for redemption.
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