We are now more than halfway through the NBA offseason and we know the schedule for the upcoming season. Additionally, the Detroit Pistons roster is almost finalized, with only one final spot up for grabs. While I think they will take advantage of it, hopefully with someone like Markelle Fultz or Isaac Okoro, let’s look at the upcoming season and take a few highlights from the year. We can revisit them once the season is over and see how right, or more likely wrong, we were.
Is this a hot take? I feel like most people who follow not just Detroit, but the NBA as a whole expect big things from Cade next seasonHe was an elite player last season with a terrible roster around him. It was because of the lack of talent he was playing with that inefficiency issues were reported by some NBA officials. Those issues won’t be there this year because he now has proper spacing, scoring, and veteran leadership around him.
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Last season, Cade averaged 22.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.3 rebounds and 35 percent from three-point range. Over the last two months of the season, however, his three-point shooting percentage jumped to nearly 38 percent. With the roster that will be built around the fourth-year point guard, it’s reasonable to expect Cade to finish this upcoming season averaging 25, 4 and 9 on 38 percent from three-point range.
If Detroit can make some noise, those numbers, plus the good old eye test, should be enough for Cade to sneak into his first of, hopefully, many All-Star games.
Technically speaking, in this analysis, 34% would be an increase for Jaden Ivey from three-point range from last year, as he shot 33.6% from three-point range. It’s hard to predict exactly what Ivey’s three-point numbers will be, given his wild inconsistencies. He shot 54% from three-point range from January to February of last year, but then shot just 28% from the field to finish the season.
Detroit did the right thing this offseason by bringing in veteran sharpshooters for Ivey to watch and learn from, as well as hiring three-point shooting guru, assistant coach Fred Vinson. Vinson covered ad nauseam but his presence can’t be overstated. That being said, I’ve never really believed in Jaden Ivey’s shooting ability, his form or his shooting instincts, and I don’t think Vinson can get him where he needs to be.
Even with that small increase in his shooting success, Ivey’s long-term value here in Detroit will be questioned because for him to be what the Pistons need, his shooting has to be, say, at least 37 percent.
