Brandon Jennings has mojo

AnnArborpiston · Post #1 » by **AnnArborpiston** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 2:28 am

Huge upgrade over Knight. I loved Knight, and really hope he gets it together, but he just didn't quite have the swagger that you see in the best guys. Jennings is a cool cat on the court, and doesn't seem to get phased to much. Loving what I am seeing from him in these first few outings for Detroit.

Josh Smith has been far less visible than I was anticipating, but I think that is because I had mostly only seen him on dunk highlight reels. He is filling up the stat sheet however, which shows he is playing team ball. A few too many 3's but that is important to keep the defense guessing.

Great work this offseason Joe.

ImHeisenberg · Post #2 » by **ImHeisenberg** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 2:35 am

Smith hasn't been visible to you? That's interesting, because I felt like he was dominating the ball too much, especially when Jennings was still out. But hey, whatever.

Jennings put up solid numbers against OKC, 22 pts and 11 assists on relatively efficient shooting (40%). But, it didn't result in a win. That's not completely his fault, as it's a team sport. But, the early individual returns look promising.

It's up to the team, and Cheeks on how to find a synergy that pools all those resources into a winning formula now.

Q00 · Post #3 » by **Q00** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 3:12 am

I think gone under the radar in these recent losses is that it looks like we may have finally found our PG with Jennings. What a difference compared to guys like Knight, Stuckey, Bynum, etc of the past. It just seems so hard for those guys and so natural for Jennings.

I read a lot of posts online before yesterdays game saying Jennings was going to get owned by Westbrook. It was the opposite.

Jennings 11 assists and 3 turnovers. Westbrook 0 assists and 4 turnovers. Their scoring, rebounding, and steals were even, but in the PG department Jennings vastly outplayed him.

I'm with you on his mojo too. I like how he plays the game.

zeebneeb · Post #4 » by **zeebneeb** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:16 am

Well, it certainly helps to have as many talented players as we have surrounding him to get those assists, that's for sure.

Jennings should have a 16-10 year, for sure, but early season woes will drag his numbers down.

MrBigShot · Post #5 » by **MrBigShot** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:23 am

Jennings took Westbrook to school. His overall game control and passing was excellent. I'm impressed with him so far. Dude definitely has swagger.

DBC10 · Post #6 » by **DBC10** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:28 am

I loved Jennings ever since he came back from his injury. The guy can definitely play and has a very controlled and smooth operation as a PG.

But a problem I see with him is the fact that he gambles too much on steals, which causes him to be completely out of position. It's honestly a low percentage action that would not fly on a established and well-tuned team but since he has a knack for it, I don't want him to completely stop either. He needs to put more effort on actual D though.

DetroitPistons · Post #7 » by **DetroitPistons** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 6:06 am

Yup, Jennings has looked really good so far. He has been under control and has run the offense nicely. We will have won that trade with the Bucks easily if he continues to play like this. Now if only we can key in defensively we might be able to actually string some wins together. Giving up 110 points won't get the job done. Surprisingly defense has been our problem, not offense.

Post #8 » by **Cowology** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 7:40 am

zeebneeb wrote:Well, it certainly helps to have as many talented players as we have surrounding him to get those assists, that's for sure.

Jennings should have a 16-10 year, for sure, but early season woes will drag his numbers down.

I said early on that I actually expected Jennings to have solid assist numbers. He's got targets and does actually have good playmaking ability. The bigger question will be just how much he dominates the ball and his shot selection. If he can lower the number of shots he takes and raise his efficiency a little I'd be very happy with 15-16 ppg out of him. It'll really be about picking his spots and knowing when to be assertive with his own offense.

dan2314 · Post #9 » by **dan2314** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 9:26 am

he has been taking maybe a few too many step back midrange jumpers, but i actually like most of those shots he has taken, and have plenty of faith that he will make a good share of them. you look at his box score and see 20 and 17 shots, and think well its the same old jennings firing up too many shots, but a huge chunk of those have been in those last ditch efforts when we've been down by a little bit too much and need a whole lot of points fast. its been jennings shooting most of those.

i dont know if its just compared to the point guards we have had the last 6 years, but i really really like the way he goes about it. his ability to get steals, both poking it loose, and intercepting passes is insane, and has really shown that not only can he pass, but he is willing to pass so far this season.

before the season, most of us, and all basketball fans, had the pistons as a team that will be really good, or one that will just fall apart completely. so far, this team simply doesnt look like one that will fail. they have looked too good for that. it gives me a lot of confidence that the team will be a strong playoff team not only this year, but for several years to come.

mercury · Post #10 » by **mercury** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 9:53 pm

The thing that has jumped out so far is his peripheral vision is much better than Knights... he's seeing the entire floor... impressive since it's so early in this offense.
He's got large paws... which explains why he doesn't get to many dribble t.o.s
Bucks fans warned us on him getting burned by gambling too much... it's a double edge sword... since he can afford to gamble a little more with our bigs... but intelligent teams will make him pay.
It might be a little soon to judge his decision making... we should cut him some slack until he's got full grasp of the sets & teammates strengths.

Minas · Post #11 » by **Minas** » Mon Nov 11, 2013 4:39 am

dan2314 wrote:he has been taking maybe a few too many step back midrange jumpers, but i actually like most of those shots he has taken, and have plenty of faith that he will make a good share of them. you look at his box score and see 20 and 17 shots, and think well its the same old jennings firing up too many shots, but a huge chunk of those have been in those last ditch efforts when we've been down by a little bit too much and need a whole lot of points fast. its been jennings shooting most of those.

i dont know if its just compared to the point guards we have had the last 6 years, but i really really like the way he goes about it. his ability to get steals, both poking it loose, and intercepting passes is insane, and has really shown that not only can he pass, but he is willing to pass so far this season.

before the season, most of us, and all basketball fans, had the pistons as a team that will be really good, or one that will just fall apart completely. so far, this team simply doesnt look like one that will fail. they have looked too good for that. it gives me a lot of confidence that the team will be a strong playoff team not only this year, but for several years to come.

He has also taken heaps of full court shots at the buzzer, which doesn't help his FG%.

Post #12 » by **dVs33** » Mon Nov 11, 2013 6:24 am

His 3rd quarter v OKC was pretty impressive. It's such a dramatic change having a legit PG over what we've had in recent years. Hopefully he can control his shot selection and make the most of his teammates. He's sees the floor so well and he's getting his timing right.

srt4b · Post #13 » by **srt4b** » Mon Nov 11, 2013 6:52 am

Man. What is going on with BK in Milwaukee?

dan2314 · Post #14 » by **dan2314** » Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:14 am

srt4b wrote:Man. What is going on with BK in Milwaukee?

he got hurt. and then walters started playing really well. dont know if thats why he came off the bench, or if they are bringing him back slowly from injury. it sucks because i was really hoping to see him succeed either with us or in milwaukee.

KidA24 · Post #15 » by **KidA24** » Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:30 pm

srt4b wrote:Man. What is going on with BK in Milwaukee?

He pulled a hammy about 3 minutes into the season, so the Bucks are bringing him back slowly.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using RealGM Forums mobile app

tmorgan · Post #16 » by **tmorgan** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 1:03 am

Knight's problem is that, despite two years of experience, Wolters is a better actual PG than he is. Wouldn't shock me if he didn't get his job back any time soon.

TroyD92 · Post #17 » by **TroyD92** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:20 am

Honest question. Was Knight that bad? You guys are acting like Jennings is a major upgrade. Despite him being pretty close to his career numbers so far.

Post #18 » by **dVs33** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:28 am

TroyD92 wrote:Honest question. Was Knight that bad? You guys are acting like Jennings is a major upgrade. Despite him being pretty close to his career numbers so far.

Knight couldn't run a P'n'R and his court vision was not there.
He was a hardworker and unselfish and could score in bunches, but as a point guard he didn't have "it"

TroyD92 · Post #19 » by **TroyD92** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:30 am

dVs33 wrote:
TroyD92 wrote:Honest question. Was Knight that bad? You guys are acting like Jennings is a major upgrade. Despite him being pretty close to his career numbers so far.

Knight couldn't run a P'n'R and his court vision was not there.
He was a hardworker and unselfish and could score in bunches, but as a point guard he didn't have "it"

Alright. We've already noticed Knights glaring holes. Luckily we're right on track for the tank.

Post #20 » by **dVs33** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:44 am

TroyD92 wrote:
dVs33 wrote:
TroyD92 wrote:Honest question. Was Knight that bad? You guys are acting like Jennings is a major upgrade. Despite him being pretty close to his career numbers so far.

Knight couldn't run a P'n'R and his court vision was not there.
He was a hardworker and unselfish and could score in bunches, but as a point guard he didn't have "it"

Alright. We've already noticed Knights glaring holes. Luckily we're right on track for the tank.

He's not that bad a player. He just needs to be used right. As much as i wanted him to be a starting PG because he was good on d, he had good athleticism and good shooting, he just lacked the vision.
As a sixth man or a SG next to a big PG (that could swap on D) he would be useful.
I wish we could have kept him as a 6th man.
Stuckey, Bynum and Billips are killing us.