Don’t see anyone talking about this, but was great to see Ivey close out the game last night. When it came time for a sub in the final few minutes, Monty subbed out Killian for Burks instead of Ivey.
Ivey looked great getting separation in the lane last night, so hoping him staying out there in crunch time is a sign of more playing time to come. 11/5/5 with a steal on 57/50/50 splits is pretty good for 21 minutes (2 missed free throws aside).
Something that Pistons fans should know:
Even with his minutes and role being jerked around, and his recent illness, Ivey is having a clearly better statistical season than both Shaedon Sharpe and Mathurin.
Compared to both guys, on a per 36 basis he’s scoring more, on better TS%, with more assists, more stocks, and similar rebounds. The only things he has (slightly) more of are turnovers and fouls.
And to be honest, he’s also having a better statistical season than Cade, if you adjust for minutes played.
The point isn’t to bash Cade though. It’s to kind of remind people that Ivey is actually a really really good young prospect - and remember, he’s two full years younger than Sasser, so he young - and he’s playing very well despite this season’s chaos.