Quiet truth Pistons fans have tried to ignore

Caris LeVert has been the favorite punching bag for Pistons fans this season, but he has quietly been playing his best basketball at just the right time. 

LeVert has been the scapegoat for most of the season and for good reason. He hasn’t been good on either end and has not excelled in the role of creator that the Pistons thought he might be off the bench. 

LeVert is having the worst season of his career by most measures but has started picking it up at the right time and is finding ways to impact the game without being a point guard. 

LeVert has played better off the ball 

LeVert’s offensive numbers over the last few weeks are still not great, but he has benefitted from the emergence of Daniss Jenkins and Kevin Huerter, who have taken over the ball handling duties. 

The biggest compliment I can give him is that he hasn’t stood out for any bad reasons on the offensive end as he has for most of the season. 

LeVert has proven one thing this season, which is that he is not a point guard, and him initiating the offense for Detroit has mostly been a disaster. He’s better at being a secondary attacker, and his shot does look to be coming around. 

He’s shot nearly 50 percent from the floor in his last five games and 40 percent from long range, hopefully a sign of things to come. To be fair to LeVert, he's been in and out with injuries (something the Pistons should have seen coming) and hasn't really gotten into a rhythm at any point this season.

But his biggest impact of late has been on the defensive end, and that is how he’ll earn minutes in the playoffs, as JB Bickerstaff will prioritize defense. He’s been coming up with big defensive plays over the last weeks with Cade Cunningham out, and that alone may keep him in the playoff rotation. 

The Pistons need Caris LeVert 

No one wants to admit this, but the Pistons really need LeVert to start scoring the basketball, especially in the playoffs when buckets are harder to come by. 

LeVert is a guy who can get his own shot, and he’s been a bucket getter his entire career, so the Pistons need him to tap into that. 

We know teams are going to sell out to stop Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and even Duncan Robinson, so Detroit will need an X-Factor to provide some unexpected production. 

LeVert is the only player on the Pistons bench who has ever averaged 20 points per game for a season, so this would be a great time for him to remember that and have a few big games. 

It’s often the unheralded players who no one expects that end up being the difference makers in the playoffs, so let’s hope LeVert’s recent defensive surge and his modest offensive leaps are signs of things to come.