On Oct. 3, a day before the Detroit Pistons tipped off their 2022-23 preseason against the New York Knicks, coach Dwane Casey set his expectations for Jaden Ivey. His speed with the ball made him immediately stand out, giving the team an element it previously lacked. Like any other rookie guard, Casey wanted Ivey to dial in as a defender and do a better job taking care of the ball.
But Casey was surprised by Ivey’s playmaking, considered a growth area for him coming out of Purdue.
“His passing has been a godsend,” Casey said. “He’s been able to get in there with his speed and see the floor. That’s something that’s come quicker than I thought.”
Ivey’s speed helped him become a consensus top-four prospect after his sophomore year, and a potential steal for the Pistons at No. 5. He was an electric scorer for Purdue, and put together a highlight reel of transition dunks and drives to the rim. Yet, teams weren’t sold on him being a lead point guard in the NBA. The reason is simple: Ivey had the tools to be a great playmaker for his teammates, but lacked the production.
In his past two months, Ivey’s production suggests he’s figuring out NBA defenses rapidly.
Since Feb. 1, he’s averaging 6.1 assists and 3.1 turnovers —a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, and a significant improvement compared to college and the first half of his rookie season. He’s establishing himself as one of the best playmakers of his draft class, and showing the Pistons they can trust him with the ball.
“Since college, I’ve gotten the hang of getting my teammates involved,” Ivey told the Free Press last Sunday. “As the year has progressed, I think I’ve gotten better in that aspect — knowing how to get off the ball, just finding my teammates, putting them in better positions. Also, my confidence in my midrange has been key as well.
“I feel like my game speaks for itself. I feel like I can, if you need me to, play the ‘one,’ if you need me off the ball I can play off the ball. It’s whatever, really. It’s up to our coach, that’s the biggest thing. Whatever position you throw me out there, as long as I can contribute to the team and help our team win, I feel like I can do that.”
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ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz, after Purdue’s Sweet 16 upset loss to Saint Peter’s last March, noted that while Ivey made impressive plays, he tallied twice as many turnovers (12) as assists (6) in three NCAA tournament games.
The Athletic’s NBA draft analyst, Sam Vecenie, in his June draft guide wrote Ivey excelled at collapsing the defense but had a tendency to take tough shots instead of finding open teammates.
Ivey as a sophomore last season averaged 3.1 assists and 2.6 turnovers, but has since improved month-by-month. The Pistons were viewed as an ideal landing spot, since Cade Cunningham would handle most of the primary playmaker responsibilities. But Cunningham’s season-ending injury after 12 games forced the Pistons to put the ball in Ivey’s hands more, and he has thrived. He dished a career-high 13 assists against Portland on March 6 with just one turnover, and followed a day later with 12 assists against Washington.
Ivey entered Friday’s game at Toronto averaging 6.4 assists per game in March, his best month as a playmaker. His previous best was February, when he averaged 5.8 assists. His best month before that? January, when he dished 5.6 assists.
On the season, Ivey is leading rookies with 4.9 assists per game, but it doesn’t reveal the leap he has made compared to the beginning of the season. From Detroit’s first game until Dec. 31, he averaged 4.1 assists and 2.7 turnovers. In 2023, it’s 5.9 assists and 3.2 turnovers. (That was before he had eight assists and a career-high nine turnovers Friday.)
His improvement with the ball starts with the skill that made him such a tantalizing prospect — his speed. He’s a blur in half-court sets and in transition. He can create fastbreak opportunities even when all five defenders are in front of him. Opposing defenses always have to account for him.
“When I watch him on film, the one thing that is very apparent is his speed and athleticism in the open court is scary,” Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone said before their game against the Pistons on March 16. “His ability to get downhill, to get to the paint, live at the rim, is scary.”
Casey from Day 1 has challenged Ivey to slow down. His speed is a weapon, but the coaching staff wants him to process the game faster than he moves. Early on, he went 100 miles an hour and missed simpler plays for his teammates. Now, he’s letting things develop before attacking.
His 13-assist performance against the Trail Blazers highlighted the strides made. He was met with two defenders in the first quarter, as Portland prioritized keeping him out of the paint. On one play, Alec Burks flashed from the corner to the right wing, and Ivey delivered the pass for an easy 3-pointer. Not long after, Ivey was met with a wall of defenders on the left block. He drifted near the free-throw line as James Wiseman cut to the rim, and then lobbed a pass over the defense to Wiseman for a dunk.
When Ivey was able to beat the defense, he kept his head up and found open shooters. He drove past Matisse Thybulle and found Isaiah Livers in the corner for a 3, and dusted Damian Lillard as he helped Thybulle on a screen to set up a wraparound pass from the paint to the left wing to Burks for another 3.
He made strong reads even without his speed. During the beginning of the third quarter, he wasn’t able to get past Thybulle at the top of the 3-point arc. So he settled for a one-handed whip pass to Burks in the corner right as Lillard helped on a Livers cut to the rim. When Ivey’s locked in, defenses have to pick their poison.
“He’s grown a lot, from the first week of the season or training camp,” Marvin Bagley III said Sunday. “I think he’s a totally different player from then. It comes with playing and figuring out how to play the game. From training camp, he’s been able to attack, he’s finding the open guys more. He’s just playing basketball and he’s only going to get better.”
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Ivey credits playmaking improvements to strides as a midrange shooter, also a weakness in college. He’s shooting 36% from midrange on the season, according to Cleaning The Glass, which ranks in the 20th percentile for combo guards. Since Jan. 1, he’s shooting 41% — around average.
It’s enough of an improvement that opposing teams have had to pay more attention to him inside the arc, rather than just at the rim. It’s another tool that has generated shots for himself and open looks for his teammates.
“I feel like I can beat my man, and there’s always going to be a low man,” Ivey said. “Just trying to read my teammates, I think that’s the biggest thing. As far as my midrange, just the confidence to take it. Once I found my confidence in it, once I make a couple, you feel like you can keep making more. I’ve just been working on it this whole season.”
Ivey said he paid attention to the Rookie of the Year race early in the season, but not as much recently. Orlando Magic forward and first overall pick Paolo Banchero remains the huge betting favorite. The former Duke standout started his rookie season strong and has maintained a high level of play. Ivey is not among the top four.
But Ivey has a chance to become the Pistons’ second consecutive All-Rookie First Team selection, after Cunningham in 2022.
Even if his improvements this season aren’t reflected in the awards race, he has won over teammates and shown the Pistons he can be a quick learner.
“I love playing with JI,” fellow rookie Jalen Duren said. “He’s one of the better guys I’ve ever played with in terms of him reading the game, his IQ, his ability to get past his first defender. He’s one of the guys that’s easiest to play with. I feel like he’s gotten better as I’ve gotten better. We’ve both grown together and he’s locked in.”
“I’ve just been focusing on my growth and focused on what we can do better as a team,” Ivey added. “I’ll let everything else take care of itself.”
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.