Jaden Ivey has played 18 straight games for the Pistons after missing the start of the season due to knee surgery, but has only surpassed 20 minutes twice in that stretch. Detroit is likely to keep Ivey on the bench for the near future while ramping him up, writes Hunter Patterson in a mailbag for The Athletic .
“[There’s] a plan in place for him to ramp up where he’s comfortable, where he’s confident, so that he can get back to playing the bulk minutes,” Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff recently said about Ivey.
Patterson notes that the advanced stats show Ivey to be a promising backcourt complement to Cade Cunningham when the two have played together this season, citing their plus-13.3 net rating over 137 minutes. However, Patterson also says that the gravity that Duncan Robinson commands as a shooter could keep the veteran in the role over Ivey for the time being.
Ivey is averaging 8.4 points on .470/.407/.808 shooting splits, carrying over the much-improved shooting he displayed in last year’s season, which was also cut short by injuries.
We have more from the Pistons:
- Tobias Harris left Tuesday’s win over the Lakers after playing just six minutes due to a hip strain, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link ). Sankofa notes that it was unclear when the injury was sustained. Patterson notes (via Twitter ) that his status for Thursday’s game against the Heat is doubtful due to left hip soreness.
- Ausar Thompson refuses to stop working just because the games are done, writes Mark Medina in an interview of Thompson for Essentially Sports . Whether it’s working out in the weight room post-game or watching film after shootaround, the defensive-minded wing keeps grinding. “He’s one of those guys that does so much homework for each individual matchup,” Bickerstaff said. “You can tell it pays off for him.” One of Thompson’s main focuses is finding ways to stay aggressive without taking himself out of his own game. “It’s definitely a process. You still have to have an aggressive mindset. You got to know how to play basketball the right way and not force shots,” he said. “Being aggressive doesn’t always mean shooting the ball. Sometimes it means just touching the paint or getting shots for one of your teammates. When I think of aggressive, that’s more of what I mean. It’s about getting paint touches and making my man guard me. I’m not necessarily thinking about the amount of shots I take.”
- Marcus Sasser missed much of the start of the season with a right hip impingement, but in Tuesday’s win over the Lakers, he reminded the team why he’s such a valuable piece for them, Sankofa writes . Sasser ended the game with 19 points, five assists, and two steals. “I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what Marcus Sasser did tonight, after not playing but somehow always seeming to find himself ready for the moment,” Bickerstaff said. “Both ends of the floor, I thought he was great defensively. Obviously hit some big shots for us offensively. What he did isn’t easy. It’s not easy to not play a ton and then come out and be as effective as he was.” Sankofa notes that Sasser’s three-point shooting ability could prove very helpful to the Pistons’ bench, as the team is 21st in percentage and bottom-five in attempts.