Luke Kennard 10 games in. Growth.

[zeebneeb]

A bunch of us Piston fans were really sore when the team selected Kennard instead of Mitchell and over the past few years, well, it was wholly justified.

Well, over the past ten games, of which he has only started 7, Luke has showed us all that not only does he absolutely deserve to start, he may very well lessen that blow, and end up a damn fine player in his own right.

Luke Kennard 10 games in.(7 starts)
MPG-32.6
PPG-18.0
RPG-3.7
APG-4.3
FG%-.453
3P%-.424
FT%-.878
eFG%-.563

Of all guards in the league averaging at least 18PPG, Luke has the fewest FGA per game at 12.8

What also surprised me is just how often Luke is getting to the line(4.1)which I lend to his ability to get into the lane.

Amongst shooting gaurds he is 10th is PPG, 10th in 3P%,(his 6.6 attempts per game is the highest of any SG in the top 10!)10th in FTA, 9th in APG, 12th in RPG, 8th in PER(Amongst some very loft peers)

His growth has been phenomenal, and if he was getting around at least the same amount of attempts as even Rose (14.8 on 25MPG!)he would be a 20ppg scorer.

I firmly believe now, after having watched Kennard finally get some real minutes, that he is a damn fine starter, a great shooter, a good facilitator, and an all around player, not just a shooter off the bench.

It's only 10 games in but I think I'm safe in saying that Kennard after 2.2 seasons has established himself as a damn fine player in this league, and I think the Pistons have found their starting SG, and can move on to finding either a SF, or PG to get this team where it needs to go. Oh and Kennard needs to get more shots up, period. He could be a 20-26ppg scorer if he was even more aggressive, and took the initiative more often. If he goes back to the bench for Brown, I'm going to lose my mind.

Here's to the Pistons drafting a damn fine player!

[mattao313]

I cant see him being a 20pt scorer I think he'll end up around 13-14 a game. Great shooter decent handle but has no game at the rim very hesitant to take it to the cup.

[whitehops]

he's been good but it's pretty inflated. blake is back tomorrow and hopefully rose is back soon, when that happens kennard will get less looks.

still happy with his progress.

[aad]

How is his stats inflated if Blake wasn’t on this team his stats will most likely stay the same

[MrBigShot]

Blake's return will lead to some more open shots for Luke too, so it could balance out. The way I see it whether or not he keeps this up boils down to whether or not he stays aggressive mentally...12 shots a game isn't much, and they will be there for him with or without Blake.

[tmorgan]

Now he needs to go full JJ Redick, get in phenomenal shape (get stronger), and become the below average defender he can be. JJ has never been a good defender, but he plays smart and does what he can. Luke can do that with effort.

[DetroitPistons]

Kennard has been awesome so far. No surprise that he gets 18ppg when you finally give the dude 30+mpg. I was hoping he would average 15ppg this season so I'm not expecting him to end playing this good but who knows. Griffin will take shots away from him probably too. I totally agree with you though that I will lose my freaking mind if Kennard goes back to the bench. He has done/shown/proven everything he needs to be incumbent the starting SG. NO MORE EXCUSES CASEY!

[jakebernat]

he's been good but it's pretty inflated. blake is back tomorrow and hopefully rose is back soon, when that happens kennard will get less looks.

still happy with his progress.

can’t inflate efficiency...

[sludgefoot]

My gosh does anyone watch these games? Great footwork and the D can't figure out if he'll use is left or right hand. Let the guy grow some.

I cant see him being a 20pt scorer I think he'll end up around 13-14 a game. Great shooter decent handle but has no game at the rim very hesitant to take it to the cup.

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[Snakebites]

he's been good but it's pretty inflated. blake is back tomorrow and hopefully rose is back soon, when that happens kennard will get less looks.

still happy with his progress.

can’t inflate efficiency...

Well, you can, but not by having your star player who draws all of the offensive attention injured.

He's had impressive statistical stretches before, so I'll wait a bit before calling this "growth".

[mattao313]

My gosh does anyone watch these games? Great footwork and the D can't figure out if he'll use is left or right hand. Let the guy grow some.

I cant see him being a 20pt scorer I think he'll end up around 13-14 a game. Great shooter decent handle but has no game at the rim very hesitant to take it to the cup.

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like Luke Im telling it how I see it

[sludgefoot]

Another 25 tonight for Luke.

My gosh does anyone watch these games? Great footwork and the D can't figure out if he'll use is left or right hand. Let the guy grow some.

I cant see him being a 20pt scorer I think he'll end up around 13-14 a game. Great shooter decent handle but has no game at the rim very hesitant to take it to the cup.

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like Luke Im telling it how I see it

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[Billl]

Luke's got that herky jerky throwback style in the paint. That ONLY works if he's confident and not hesitating. He's even starting to get some respect from the refs down there.

Long term though, he's got to get stronger. When the playoffs role around, guys are going to get away with more bumps on him and he's going to need to be able to finish through it.

[zeebneeb]

Luke's got that herky jerky throwback style in the paint. That ONLY works if he's confident and not hesitating. He's even starting to get some respect from the refs down there.

Long term though, he's got to get stronger. When the playoffs role around, guys are going to get away with more bumps on him and he's going to need to be able to finish through it.

Your right he does have that style. Luke is a lot more athletic then he let's on as well, and never really "goes for it" at the rim, being more of a crafty style of player, it's effective, and his jab step is sick allowing him to free himself up effectively but your 100% correct on the toughness angle. It's something all gunners who have a paint game have to learn at some point, and when they get banged around a bunch, it can throw them off their shooting.

So happy he's turning into exactly what everyone had hoped.

[Moses ShamMoses]

There has been a lot of talk the last few years about SVG picking the wrong guy (Kennard over Mitchell), but the way I look at it, its still a win because he is a useful starter in this league which is good value for late lotto. At least he isn't a bust like Stanley Johnson.

[DBC10]

There has been a lot of talk the last few years about SVG picking the wrong guy (Kennard over Mitchell), but the way I look at it, its still a win because he is a useful starter in this league which is good value for late lotto. At least he isn't a bust like Stanley Johnson.

Still it's a going to be a sore spot for some time. Especially missing out on Booker who was practically there for the taking and being a homegrown talent in Michigan and Mitchell begging for us to draft him too. That's two star caliber guys that we whiffed on that would've fundamentally changed this team.

[sludgefoot]

All depends on which one wins a championship first. Currently Mitchell is in that lead. He was drafted by a superior team and given a free run from the beginning. Time will tell, but both are excellent players.

There has been a lot of talk the last few years about SVG picking the wrong guy (Kennard over Mitchell), but the way I look at it, its still a win because he is a useful starter in this league which is good value for late lotto. At least he isn't a bust like Stanley Johnson.

Still it's a going to be a sore spot for some time. Especially missing out on Booker who was practically there for the taking and being a homegrown talent in Michigan and Mitchell begging for us to draft him too. That's two star caliber guys that we whiffed on that would've fundamentally changed this team.

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[whitehops]

in the month of november (the last six games), kennard is averaging 21.5/5.3/4.5 shooting .409 on 7.3 attempts from 3.

for reference donovan mitchell is averaging 24.6/5.1/4.3 on noticeably worse efficiency (kennard at .620 TS%, mitchell .575).


honestly even when blake, rose and reggie are 100% kennard has to be getting 7 three point attempts a game.

[hoophabit]

Yeah, more and better shots for Luke.

[ElectricMayhem]

and become the below average defender he can be.

This is really important for him. His offense has exploded, but only to the point where he is negating his terrible defense.