If Cade Cunningham is Detroit's piston, Jaden Ivey is the Pistons' next gear. There will be bumps in the road this season for the fifth overall pick, and just as many defenders in his wake.
"He can bend the defense just by getting down the floor," Dwane Casey said Tuesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "The number one thing that Jaden has to do is understand time, score, situation. I tell him, it’s like driving down I-75. You can’t go 100 miles per hour if there’s traffic. You gotta understand when to slow down and speed up, and he’ll learn that."
Casey and the Pistons are ready to unleash Ivey in the season-opener Wednesday night. He flashed in the Summer League and again in exhibition games, when he dashed and slashed his way to the basket. He clashes with Cunningham, in complementary fashion. Ivey, 20, is the pedal to the metal. Cunningham, 21, is the hand at the wheel. Casey said he loved "the rhythm they developed together" in exhibition games.
They will likely comprise the youngest starting backcourt in the NBA. They will confound opponents and their own coaches, win games and lose them. They combined for seven turnovers per game in the preseason; they also stuffed the stat sheet everywhere else. Ivey, in particular, will be something of a roller coaster, a thrill ride whose speed can sometimes work against him. Part of Cunningham's job will be setting the right pace for the rookie.
"There’s going to be some growing pains with him where you say, ‘God, where did that pass come from?' And then the next time down the floor, ‘God, can you believe that shot he made?’ It’s that type of play we have to go with and live with until you smooth down the rough edges with Jaden," Casey said.
At the same time, the Pistons don't want to dull Ivey's talent. There will always be danger in his high-wire game. They want him to make smart decisions without playing the game safe. That means learning when and where to take risks, when to throttle down and when to ramp it up to triple digits. The road won't always be smooth at the start.
"The god gifts that he has, the speed that he has, we need that," said Casey. "All of our players need that speed, that ability to get his own shot, to bend the defense, to get down the lane, but now understand, not turn it over trying to attack gaps and trying to make passes that are not there.
"He’s going to grow for us. I think he’s going to be a star for this team for a long, long time."
Cunningham's star began rising midway through last season. If Ivey's rises with it, the NBA's greenest backcourt could soon grow into one of its best.
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Other highlights from Casey's interview on 97.1 The Ticket:
On the addition of Bojan Bogdanovic: "His veteran presence is going to be huge for us, and his shooting, his spacing the floor, his knowledge of the game. In practice, he’s talking to the players and giving them pointers as to what to do on the floor and there’s no dollar sign you can put on that. He’s averaged 18 points a game on a championship-expected team like Utah. It was an excellent get by Troy (Weaver) and his staff. It’s something we needed, the three-point shooting as everyone knows, so he’s a godsend."
On the next step for Saddiq Bey: "Consistency. Saddiq got off to a slow start (last season) shooting the ball. Never was worried about it, but this year he needs to get off to a good start shooting the ball for us to space the floor, to give Ivey and Cade the room to operate and if (the defense does) collapse in, he’s ready to knock it down outside. And then defensively, rebounding, all those areas that Saddiq needs to take a step forward. And he will, as far as one of our older guys on that floor."
On former ninth overall pick Kevin Knox: "His three-point shooting is going to be huge for us. And his size, his length at the 3, 4 position is going to be important. This is an opportunity for him. He’s a young man who’s highly talented, highly thought of out of the draft but just hasn’t been able to put his roots down anywhere yet. So this is a great opportunity, which he’s going to get, to play behind Bojan right now and take advantage of it."
On expectations for the team: "I’m not going to put a limit on it. Our goal is to always make the playoffs, but we have to be realistic with where we are in our restoration program as Troy calls it. My goal coming here was to talk about championships, and goals change. Again, I’m not going to put a limit on where these young guys can go, added with the older payers, but we have to be realistic with where we are. Our development as a program may not come (this season) with the win total. We’re pushing every day to get there but it’s hard to predict."
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