The rising guard’s season is likely over, which sucks
It looked bad.
It felt bad.
It’s confirmed bad.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey sustained a broken left fibula in the team’s win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. If you missed it, Orlando’s Cole Anthony dove into Ivey’s legs as he tried to get to a loose ball — a reckless and, frankly, stupid act — and the play will likely end the vastly-improved Ivey’s season.
First, you hope Ivey is just dealing with a clean break and no ligament damage. They say a break is better than ligament damage, so, for what it’s worth, that makes this 1% less shitty. But I’m not a doctor, I’m a basketball fan.
I hate this for Jaden. And the Pistons.
He needed to take his game to another level for Detroit to make a move this season, and he put in the work to do it. He’s grown into one of the team’s more reliable shooters and his play in clutch moments this season has been huge.
Now, all of that is over — for now.
Ivey has a long road back, but after seeing the work he put in this summer, I’m confident he’ll put in just as much — if not more — to return next season. When that return occurs is anyone’s guess, but judging by the air cast and stretcher last night, Ivey seems to be looking at a 3-6 month recovery time.
In the meantime, on the court, Marcus Sasser and Tim Hardaway Jr. will have to step up to fill the void. This is a critical moment in the young career of Sasser, who has flashed some real complimentary skills in the past.
I think this is also a great opportunity for front office czar Trajan Langdon to go out at the trade deadline and acquire a real, veteran point guard. Cade Cunningham is going to have to carry an even larger load now. He was swarmed when Ivey missed time last month, and that’s only going to happen more now that his season is done.
Finding a legitimate point guard to relieve some of that pressure and make shots will be paramount if this team plans to continue pushing for the Play-In Tournament without Ivey.
But talking about all of that feels a little hollow right now.
Get well soon, Jaden.