Jennings, if he's a pass-first PG

ChiLA Bullkers · Post #1 » by **ChiLA Bullkers** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:04 am

With arguably one of the best front courts in basketball (Josh Smith / Greg Monroe / Andre Drummond), I think it's pretty obvious that Brandon Jennings can't come into the situation thinking the team will have any success with him shooting 40% from the field.

DET could be really tough to beat if Jennings becomes the distributor he's shown he can be. A few of his best assist games from last season (10+ assists):

W (+11) @ BOS - 21-2-13-6(!)-0 on 9-17/1-3/2-3, 2 TOs
W (+3) vs. CLE - 13-4-13-2-1 on 5/13/1-5/2-2, 4 TOs
W (+11) @ TOR - 19-4-10-0-0 on 5-13/2-5/7-7, 2 TOs
L (-5) @ CLE - 14-3-12-1-0 on 5-19/4-10/0-1, 3 TOs
L (-8) @ DEN - 12-2-10-3-1 on 5-15/0-3/2-5, 7 TOs
L (-3) vs. BKN - 31-2-11-1-0 on 12-18/4-6/3-3, 4 TOs
W (+8) vs. TOR - 11-5-19-1-1 on 3-12/1-2/4-4, 3 TOs
W (+1) vs. UTA - 20-1-17-3-0 on 8-14/4-5/0-0, 3 TOs
L (-16) @ LAC - 18-1-12-1-0 on 6-12/5-10/1-1, 1 TO
W (+10) @ GSW - 31-3-10-1-0 on 10-16/6-11/5-6, 5 TOs
L (-13) @ WAS - 8-3-10-2-0 on 2-8/0-3/4-4, 2 TOs
W (+6) vs. ORL - 15-2-14-2-0 on 4-15/3-8/4-5, 1 TO
L (-5) vs. ATL - 12-3-13-2-0 on 4-15/1-5/4-5, 3 TOs

MIL was 7-6 (.538) when B. Jennings had >10 assists.
In the Losses, Jennings shot .391 FG.
In the Wins, Jennings shot .440 FG.
Jennings shot .399 FG for the year.

MIL was 31-38 (.449) when B. Jennings had <10 assists.
MIL was 38-44 (.463) on the year.

If Jennings is at 14 ppg (down from 17.4) on 12 FGA per game (down from 15.5) and shoots 44% from the field while averaging 8 apg (up from 6.5), DET will be a solid 6 seed and could be trouble for teams because of their size of their frontline and athleticism and quickness in their backcourt.

Will it happen? Who knows.

I'd like to see it happen, though. I want a solid Central Division. I want all Playoff teams to be >.500. I want great First Round action.

Here's to hope...

sortpar · Post #2 » by **sortpar** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:33 am

One of the reasons that Jennings has such a low number of turnovers is that he doesn't pass. If he would pass, the Pistons may have gotten a decent PG.

Maker_84 · Post #3 » by **Maker_84** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:50 am

he needs to be able to stretch the floor and he can but he has a slow release on his shot and isn't very big or athletic on top of that

DetroitDon15 · Post #4 » by **DetroitDon15** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:51 am

sortpar wrote:One of the reasons that Jennings has such a low number of turnovers is that he doesn't pass. If he would pass, the Pistons may have gotten a decent PG.

It's an upgrade no doubt.

piston1423 · Post #5 » by **piston1423** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:58 am

Never been a fan of Jennings however, Jennings has never had the talent of a Drummond/Monroe or Smith on his team either. I'm not really big on the deal but I'm willing to see how it works out before I bash it.

ImHeisenberg · Post #6 » by **ImHeisenberg** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 4:57 am

sortpar wrote:One of the reasons that Jennings has such a low number of turnovers is that he doesn't pass. If he would pass, the Pistons may have gotten a decent PG.

How did he average 6.5 assists without passing? Did the defender knock the ball into the hands of another Bucks player?

ImHeisenberg · Post #7 » by **ImHeisenberg** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 4:58 am

piston1423 wrote:Never been a fan of Jennings however, Jennings has never had the talent of a Drummond/Monroe or Smith on his team either. I'm not really big on the deal but I'm willing to see how it works out before I bash it.

Nor has he had experienced mentors like Billups and Cheeks, who have both raised banners, and Chauncey owning a Finals MVP.

Baddy Chuck · Post #8 » by **Baddy Chuck** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:15 am

Maker_84 wrote:he needs to be able to stretch the floor and he can but he has a slow release on his shot and isn't very big or athletic on top of that

His slow release never was a problem for him IMO. As someone who was every game for four years I can't even remember one situation where I thought "man, if he got that up quicker he'd have had a better opportunity".

ImHeisenberg wrote:
sortpar wrote:One of the reasons that Jennings has such a low number of turnovers is that he doesn't pass. If he would pass, the Pistons may have gotten a decent PG.

How did he average 6.5 assists without passing? Did the defender knock the ball into the hands of another Bucks player?

Swinging the ball around the perimeter was a huge part of our offense, and Dunleavy and Ersan knocked down a ton of shots that weren't necessarily "created" by Jennings. For reference, a guy like Monta actually went out and created offense for other a lot better then Jennings (like A LOT better). Jennings doesn't really create plays for others, but he also isn't an idiot with the ball like a lot of players who aren't good at creating, he's actually really reserved with it and rarely turns it over. I'm not sure how your offense works really, but maybe if they gave him a little more free reign to make a lot more mistakes his assist numbers could be a little better.

mercury · Post #9 » by **mercury** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:00 am

ImHeisenberg wrote:
piston1423 wrote:Never been a fan of Jennings however, Jennings has never had the talent of a Drummond/Monroe or Smith on his team either. I'm not really big on the deal but I'm willing to see how it works out before I bash it.

Nor has he had experienced mentors like Billups and Cheeks, who have both raised banners, and Chauncey owning a Finals MVP.

This is the key difference from last year... we simply haven't had anyone to bring out the right mentality for our young PGs

ImHeisenberg · Post #10 » by **ImHeisenberg** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:04 am

Baddy Chuck wrote: I'm not sure how your offense works really, but maybe if they gave him a little more free reign to make a lot more mistakes his assist numbers could be a little better.

Your guess is as good as mine. Cheeks said he wanted to implement an "up tempo" style with a lot of forced turnovers. Of course, EVERY coach likes to say that. I'm guessing we're going to see a lot of pick and roll with Drummond, Monroe and Smith.