Caris LeVert’s first season with the Detroit Pistons has been one of the toughest of his career.
Even though the Pistons have sat atop the Eastern Conference almost the entire way, the 10-year veteran has seen a lot less of the court than he’s used to.
Lower body injuries resulted in LeVert missing plenty of early games, but his longest missed stretch came in late January when he was absent seven straight games while dealing with symptoms of vertigo.
LeVert’s now back in the fold, having played five consecutive games going into the All-Star break. And in the hopes of getting him to contribute at a high level, the Pistons are altering his usage to involve longer runs on the court to help LeVert catch his rhythm.
“With the inner-ear illness that he had just recently allowed his body to kind of calm down, so he was able to work,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after Detroit’s win over the Knicks on Feb. 6. “I think that’s important for him is to be able to work, to be able to play, to be able to do it consistently helps his game.
“Those longer stretches help him find a rhythm in-game. We’re going to do all that we can because we know how important he’s going to be for us down the stretch to make sure that he stays in that rhythm.”
The game against the Knicks featured the first such run for LeVert as he entered the matchup with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter and played over 10 straight minutes.
In that time, he scored five points on three shots and provided a team-high four assists. With LeVert on the court during that stretch, the Pistons were a +18.
The game would become a blowout, but LeVert added another three points and two assists in the second half in an eight-minute run.
These extended opportunities stemmed from a conversation between Bickerstaff and LeVert about what would best help him as he continues working through his turbulent season.
To LeVert, the chance to feel the game out and be in the action for a larger chunk of time rather than more smaller bursts brings out the best in him. He’s not playing considerably more time than before, it’s just less spread out during the game.
Having the ability to sit out some of last month, get his body right and work on his game also served to prepare LeVert for longer burns out on the court.
LeVert says once his body gets warm, “I just feel better out there.”
“Trying to find a rhythm throughout the chaos, it’s been tough,” LeVert told MLive. “It’s a thing where I just got to keep working on my game outside of the games and trust that it’s gonna pay dividends on the court.”
The Pistons have only tried these longer runs a few times before the All-Star break and they haven’t worked out every time.
Against the Charlotte Hornets, LeVert got another 10-plus minute outing in the first half and left with two points, an assist and a steal as a -14 while on the court. He had a decent defensive showing, personally, amid one of the team’s rougher stretches of that game, but he never caught his rhythm in the same way as the Knicks game.
Bickerstaff has seen first-hand what a difference-maker LeVert can be when he’s feeling good from their shared time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While LeVert was a starter for many years, the Cavaliers relied on him a lot off the bench in the same way the Pistons hope to do. Bickerstaff believes LeVert is “one of the most adaptable players I’ve coached” and that gives him confidence he’ll find his way.
“He just is one of those guys that seems to figure it out,” Bickerstaff told MLive. “And it’s on me, I’ve got to do a better job of helping him and talking to him and making sure that he and I are on the same page. Because it has been hard for him, the in-and-out of it all. Not being able to play consistent games with his rhythm has been difficult for him.
“We’ve obviously had a lot of conversations, and I do my best to try to help him out, but he’s just so versatile and there’s so many different roles he can play and he can switch those roles quickly.”
Communication remains something Bickerstaff and his coaching staff pride themselves on.
As LeVert dealt with the unique blend of physical and mental challenge that came with his recent ailment, Bickerstaff says what was most important was talking everything out with LeVert.
“You don’t know what he’s going through and how he’s feeling,” Bickerstaff said. “It was just checking on him every day and asking him how he was doing, was there progress and how he was feeling. But that’s all you can do is kind of be there as support because you don’t know exactly what he’s going through.”
The Pistons are thriving, but the season hasn’t gone to plan for LeVert. Bickerstaff sees LeVert being impactful for the Pistons as they start their playoff approach.
But as LeVert tries to shake off what’s been his worst season, statistically, there’s confidence this new strategy can showcase why the Pistons wanted to sign him over the offseason.