The Detroit Pistons knew it was going to be a slow ramp up trying to get Jaden Ivey back to where he was playing before his season-ending injury in January.
An extra arthroscopic procedure to relieve knee discomfort pushed that timeline back an extra month.
But the former lottery pick finally seems to be hitting an important threshold in his progression as he played a season-high 29 minutes for Detroit in its loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday night.
Not just the minute total was different as Ivey, who’s playing just under 16 minutes a night, was on the court for the entire fourth quarter. Ivey hadn’t played in the fourth quarter at all since Dec. 15 and it was just the ninth time this season he’s been put in during the final period at all.
Part of that could’ve fallen on the Pistons trailing by 23 points going into the fourth quarter and coach J.B. Bickerstaff needing someone to ignite the offense.
But Bickerstaff got a good second half out of Ivey — scoring 10 of his 11 points — and liked how he was meshing with his teammates.
“I thought he was helping us. I thought he was playing well, I didn’t want to disrupt that with the minutes or whatever,” Bickerstaff said postgame. “So I wanted to give him an opportunity to get out there and compete because I thought he was with some groups that were making some hay. Just wanted to make sure that he felt the trust and the confidence that we have in him when we were put in that position.”
While it wasn’t an efficient night, with Ivey finishing 2-of-10 from the field, he’s really starting to showcase the athleticism that was helping him break through last season pre-injury.
Over the first three games of Detroit’s long West Coast trip, Ivey was averaging 10 points and 2.7 assists, shooting 66.7% from the field and 75% from three-point range. He did all that in just over 15 minutes a night and only had one turnover across all three games.
Ivey has the difficult job of trying to be more consistent and a difference maker on the court, while having limited minutes to do so with his teammates.
Forward Isaiah Stewart believes Ivey “has another gear to kick into” just like what he proved in 30 games last season, averaging 17.6 points and four assists per game.
The Pistons need more help from the guard spot, incredibly evident on Sunday when Cade Cunningham had a scoreless first half and all Detroit’s limited offense ran through the post. Ivey continuing to get better and more reliable playing with and without the star guard is going to be a major boon to creating a playoff-ready rotation.
But, crucially, the trust and confidence Bickerstaff and Detroit’s players have preached in Ivey may finally start to translate on the court if he is getting to play deeper into games more often.