Brandon Jennings 2014-2015

[princeofpalace]

Is this the year that Jennings finally gets it? He's looked like a new man under SVG, he still has lapses in play but he's not playing anything like he did last year where he would routinely shoot us out of games.

Jennings is averaging 12.5 points/5.5 assists/2 boards on 43% FG 42% from 3, 86% FT in 27mpg with a 21 PER and 57% TS. He is taking a career low 13 FGA per game with a career high 38% assist rate.

Jennings has always had stretches where he's looked great followed by stretches of horrible PG play but this is the first time in Jennings career playing under a great coach who is not afraid to bury him on the bench if his play suffers. Jennings went from higschool to being buried in Europe to going to a Bucks team where he was allowed to shoot at will, he showed signs of improvement under Cheeks but pouted and quit when Cheeks was canned. Will SVG be the coach that gets Jennings to be a net positive on the court when so many have failed before him?

Do you think Jennings can keep this up? Or, does he likely revert back to the Jennings of old sometime during the season?

[epheisey]

I've always thought he was a solid PG that just needed a good coach to point him in the right direction. He's finally starting to get some credit around here.


BUT, and here's where I may have been wrong. He seems to be at his best when he is allowed to play a little wild. He's looked good so far this year, no doubt. But when he forces himself to play under control like this, it almost seems to limit how good he can actually be. It's a catch-22 if I'm right (which let's be honest, is probably not the case hah). One the one hand, he's at his best when his hot, and gunning. He's also at his worst when he's cold, and gunning. So here we are in the middle, where he's under control, and only slightly above average.

Perhaps it's just a learning curve, and as he understands his new role better, he'll really open it up. I can only hope.

[epheisey]

double post

[Ghost]

I am so hopeful that SVG can keep Jennings on this track. I think right now, if he keeps it going, that he could be at least an average PG with above average passing. Based on his whole career so far, I'd call that a major victory. Those stats so far this year we're also with them disastrous first games where he was pretty brutal. Since then he's really looked impressive.

[whitehops]

i'll just start by saying that I've followed Jennings closely since he was in high school and was my favourite player during that time. after his first couple years in the league I've almost been ready to 'give up' on him but the last few years have inspired hope so I kept following him. my faith in SVG kept me a fan of his this year.

from what I've seen so far this year I do think he can get to playing 'good' basketball. i'm not expecting him to become chris paul overnight but if he shows continued improvement in his decision making then i'll remain a fan.

I don't think he'll ever be an all star candidate, if only because most people will write him off, but i'm confident he can run the team well and not be a turnstile on defense. like on mike conley's level, essentially.

PS i'm secretly hoping he shoots ~43% from the field this year and in the 43-45 range going forward in his career.

[treefi]

Question for us all: If Jennings keeps this up, should we trade him while his value is high? Or will he continue to keep this up, meaning he should be our starting PG?

[DetroitPistons]

Question for us all: If Jennings keeps this up, should we trade him while his value is high? Or will he continue to keep this up, meaning he should be our starting PG?

Keep him unless we are trading him for an upgrade at point guard or Dinwiddie somehow gets playing time and proves to be legit prospect.

[Han Solo]

Question for us all: If Jennings keeps this up, should we trade him while his value is high? Or will he continue to keep this up, meaning he should be our starting PG?

Keep him.. He takes care of the ball and teammates seem to trust and respond to him.

[Han Solo]

I was hoping SVG could turn around both Jennings and Smith.. Also don't just give the coach the credit.. It's nice for Jennings to have a real coach but you still have to put the work in and "buy in" on the court.. Look at Josh Smith. Keep it up Brandon.

[Ghost]

Question for us all: If Jennings keeps this up, should we trade him while his value is high? Or will he continue to keep this up, meaning he should be our starting PG?

No, we should keep him if he continues to play well. He's still a very young player, and if he proves that under SVG he can at least be an average point guard with above average passing.. then he could be a nice fit for us. I do love his creativity and lob throws to Drummond when he's playing with that confidence, we haven't got to see much of it though.

It's not like that type of player is going to pull a great trade value package back anyway.. it's not going to get a top flight shot creating small forward. We're not going to get better if we move him and he continues to play like this.
If Jennings gives us enough that we can believe in him running the offense for us and then maybe even have some good hot scoring games, it's one less position needing to be filled. Maybe we only need a small forward and experience if we move ahead with Drummond/Monroe/KCP/Jennings.

Like I think most people agree it all goes out the window if he reverts back to bad-Jennings and SVG just has to constantly benches his ass . Then we might as well dump him...

[Ghost]

I was hoping SVG could turn around both Jennings and Smith.. Also don't just give the coach the credit.. It's nice for Jennings to have a real coach but you still have to put the work in and "buy in" on the court.. Look at Josh Smith. Keep it up Brandon.

Yeah, me too. Jennings has been very impressive compared to his "usual self", discounting them first two games. Even though Smith has shot an unbelievable amount, at least the last couple games I have noticed him being better looking for the pass and actually taking charges. Normally it's not the highest paid player on the roster taking charges for the team. Maybe he's beginning to buy-in a bit more... I don't know. We can hope.

[Han Solo]

I was hoping SVG could turn around both Jennings and Smith.. Also don't just give the coach the credit.. It's nice for Jennings to have a real coach but you still have to put the work in and "buy in" on the court.. Look at Josh Smith. Keep it up Brandon.

Yeah, me too. Jennings has been very impressive compared to his "usual self", discounting them first two games. Even though Smith has shot an unbelievable amount, at least the last couple games I have noticed him being better looking for the pass and actually taking charges. Normally it's not the highest paid player on the roster taking charges for the team. Maybe he's beginning to buy-in a bit more... I don't know. We can hope.

Smith has been good on defense.. His offense has been so bad that it eliminates his defense.. That's a sad truth.. I doubt he'll shoot 35% from the field the rest of the way though.. I hope.. haha

[Ghost]

Yeah, I agree, it was like KCP shooting 26%.. it can't be that bad all year

[MotownMadness]

Hes been alot better for sure. Im just glad hes showing that he can buy into a system so far which gives him hope for a much improved season.

[DCintheD]

I'm starting to like this kid.. doesn't seem like all hope is lost with him. the same cannot be said about Smith

[RSCD3_]

Missed the game

How did he look


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[whitehops]

Jennings still takes a few 'classic jennings' shots a game and there are usually a few possessions where he dribbles too much but he is definitely headed in the right direction. even on the possessions he dribbles too much you can tell he is trying to actively create offense for the team, not necessarily himself.




small sample size so take with a grain of salt, but his on/off numbers so far are very positive.

they've only played seven games so a lot of context needs to be taken into consideration. things like who he was replaced with, who he was playing with/against, etc. etc.

Jennings is +9.5, which means the team has a +9.5 point advantage per 100 possessions when Jennings is on the court, as opposed to on the bench. most of this is offensively, as the team a whopping 19.7 more points (per 100 possessions) when he's on the floor. the pistons actually give up 10.4 less points per 100 possessions when he's on the bench.

you can almost flip those numbers for augustin, as the team is much worse offensively when he's on the floor but better defensively. augustin is -9.2 overall.

[princeofpalace]

Jennings really rose to the challenge against Wall and outplayed him head to head- Jennings has so much potential, its a pity that he's never put it all together. I hope he has his best season of his career and think he will since it appears that he's bought into SVG.

8 games into the season: 15 points/6 assists/3 boards on 44% FG, 43% from 3, 85% FT, 22 PER

He's playing like our second best player, a big contrast to last year when he and SMith were tied for worst Piston. He's still prone to playing hero ball and taking bad shots but the books not closed on Brandon. Call me a fool but I really do believe that SVG will get him to play up to his potential.

[Redeemed]

Jennings really rose to the challenge against Wall and outplayed him head to head- Jennings has so much potential, its a pity that he's never put it all together. I hope he has his best season of his career and think he will since it appears that he's bought into SVG.

8 games into the season: 15 points/6 assists/3 boards on 44% FG, 43% from 3, 85% FT, 22 PER

He's playing like our second best player, a big contrast to last year when he and SMith were tied for worst Piston. He's still prone to playing hero ball and taking bad shots but the books not closed on Brandon. Call me a fool but I really do believe that SVG will get him to play up to his potential.

I was tempted to take you up on the namecalling offer...but I totally agree with you. Jennings is trending up. He looks poised to (dare I say it?) turn the corner and make his potential actual production. We need him aggressive yet smart. We need him utilizing all his weapons on the floor getting them in positions where they can be most successful (no passes to Josh behind the arc please).

I like the edge Jennings is playing with, I just hope he hones that edge with some measure of savvy.

[MrBigShot]

Brandon Jennings. What a beast.