DETROIT — Chaz Lanier takes pride in being prepared for whenever the Detroit Pistons call on him.
That’s meant plenty of time on the bench for the rookie and 37th overall pick in the most recent NBA draft. It’s also required some time away from the team, going out on assignment in the G League.
But when his number is called, Lanier is eager to prove why he can be a regular contributor to a winning basketball team.
“It means a lot just to be able to have the opportunity to play in the NBA and play with this great group of guys,” Lanier said after a feature fourth-quarter role in Detroit’s win over the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night. “It’s a blessing to also be able to play for (coach J.B. Bickerstaff). Staying ready, that’s my thing. Coaches do a great job with keeping us ready and went out there and took the shots and the looks that I got.”
Lanier’s made it out on the court in 14 games so far this season and had some decent court time in November amid a slew of injuries to the roster. He enjoyed good moments, including an outing against the Philadelphia 76ers scoring six points with four assists and four rebounds.
However, the team getting healthy again meant a handful of assignments to the Motor City Cruise for most of December. Since Nov. 22, Lanier has played for the Pistons four times for 24 total minutes.
With the Pistons already operating one of the deepest rotations in the league, minutes had been scarce for Lanier. But with the Cruise, he could get more reps, have the freedom to take shots and continue growing his game.
The assignments keeps him fresh to go out and have a clutch fourth quarter like he did against the Bulls, scoring eight points with an assist to help secure a come-from-behind victory.
Lanier hit a pair of shots from deep, making 3-of-5 attempts from the field in some of the highest-leverage minutes he’s played in the NBA to this point.
Fans don’t see him every night, but the Pistons have plenty of confidence in giving him the ball and a green light to shoot, even if he’s not doing it regularly in the NBA.
“He’s a high-level offensive player. He just knows how to play offense,” Bickerstaff said. “That doesn’t leave you, whether you play or don’t play. Like, you see old guys out there still at the (recreation center) playing pickup, they still know how to get a bucket. Chaz is that type of player offensively.
“I was more pleased with what he did defensively. He didn’t mess up one assignment, one coverage. He got the ball where it was supposed to be. Obviously, the feeling was we needed some space, we needed some shots to go and that’s why he went in. But he did that and then he was a two way player at a high level also for us.”
Defense was the biggest question for Lanier coming into the league.
He became one of the best shooters in college basketball over his four years spent with North Florida and final season with Tennessee. At 24 years old, Lanier’s already older than five other non-rookie players on the roster and plays with the offensive maturity that comes with that.
The key to seeing the court more — alongside team availability — would be if he could up his game defensively, particularly for a Detroit team that sees itself as defense first.
“(Bickerstaff) makes it clear that if you want to play with the Pistons, you’re going to have to play hard on defense and really give it your all and be a good team defender,” Lanier said. “So I’ve just took that challenge and I really worked on it for sure.”
In his 12 minutes on the court Wednesday night, he was credited as the primary defender on just two shots, with both missing the mark. For the season, he has the lowest defended field goal percentage on the team of 25%.
It’s a small sample size and not typically against another team’s elite shooters, but he’s certainly not proving to be a defensive liability when he plays for Detroit and it’s building more trust in Lanier’s first season.
“We know what he brings to the table. We got that confidence in him when he comes in to do what he do,” veteran wing Javonte Green, whose locker is next to Lanier’s, said. “That’s to make shots and play tough defense and that’s what he did tonight.”