Each pass Jaden Ivey has thrown lately seems to find Jalen Duren’s hands before it’s violently dunked through a basket.
Whether the ball is up high, down low or through a crowd, the Pistons’ rookies, both of whom were recently named participants in the Rising Stars event during All-Star Weekend, just seem to connect more and more as the season progresses. Their growing chemistry has led to easy buckets, which are sometimes hard to come by in Detroit.
Ivey has 27 assists over his last four games, and 12 of those (44 percent) have gone to Duren. The rookie ballhandler has evolved as a playmaker in recent weeks; he’s also been asked to do more, so, naturally, the opportunities to connect with Duren have increased.
However, there’s also something to their partnership that can’t be quantified.
“They’ve been working together after practice, going through situations,” Detroit head coach Dwane Casey said of Ivey and Duren, both of whom work closely with coaches Rex Kalamian and Jordan Brink on pick-and-roll reps. “They’ve been trying to get a rhythm with each other, feel each other and get an understanding of where each other (is) going to be as far as pocket passing is concerned. Also, as a product of handling the ball more, with Killian (Hayes) going to the second unit, Cade (Cunningham) being out, Cory (Joseph) being out, (Ivey) is the last man standing.
“He’s doing a good job of reading and making the simple play, the easy, obvious passes. He’s learning how to be a point guard. He wasn’t a point guard at Purdue unless it was certain situations. This is a hard venue to learn how to play the point guard position.”
This first clip encapsulates the progress both have made and is arguably the best example of just how far both have come in terms of being patient and manipulating the defense in unison.
There’s no rushing. Everything is perfectly timed. Ivey, most impressively, uses three different gears here after receiving the screen from Duren. Ivey’s biggest offensive issue this season has been playing too fast, at one blazing speed. In this play, it’s very clear he’s starting to get a grasp on how to diversify his pace. Ivey starts off sprinting to create the initial space, then he slows down to give the impression that he’s passing. He then crab dribbles to allow Duren to make his run. Two months ago, Ivey might not make this play under such control.
As for Duren, his patience is tremendous here too. After setting the screen, he takes his time before traveling down his path to the rim. It’s not until he sees that both defenders Detroit put into the pick-and-roll action are locked on Ivey that he sprints towards the basket. Duren sees the opening early and even calls for the ball.
Now this play is designed for Duren to cut back after setting the screen for Bojan Bogdanović. It’s not improvisation; it more provides Ivey with two options in one — he can play it safe and give it to Bogdanović or trust that Duren will be ready for the ball upon cutting.
Both Ivey and Duren read the defense perfectly. If you freeze the video two seconds in, you can tell Ivey already knows where he’s going to go with the ball. Pistons wing Alec Burks empties out to the opposite corner, making it so that no one on the Nets is in a great position to help around the basket. That empty out to the corner gives Duren all the space he needs to catch, gather and go up. It’s a really good game design.
Ivey has no fear that Duren won’t be ready to receive the pass. He knows Duren sees what he sees. Ivey prepares to throw the ball before Duren is really done completing his screen. Duren immediately turns his head after the screen contact and makes a clean catch in perfect stride for an easy layup.
This final clip is all confidence between the two rookies, who will likely give the Pistons all-rookie selections for the third consecutive year.
First off, kudos to Ivey for keeping his dribble alive despite some awkward defensive pressure from the Bucks. He easily could have picked up his dribble. Instead, by keeping it alive, he’s able to give himself a better angle to complete a subtly difficult pass. Ivey sees that Brook Lopez has turned his head, but he does have to trust Duren to seal Jrue Holiday after rolling.
Duren not only does a great job of cutting off Holiday’s path to the pass, but he also makes himself available to Ivey. The former immediately puts his hands up and calls for the ball once he gets a foot in the paint.
Duren trusts Ivey to deliver, and Ivey trusts Duren to make the catch despite minimal space. Both play crucial roles in the Pistons likely having at least one All-Rookie selection for the third straight season, and possibly multiple such picks for the second time in that span (2020-21 with Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart).
Trust goes a long way, and the trust Ivey and Duren have shown in each other has allowed both of them to develop significantly in recent weeks.
GO DEEPER
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(Photo of Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey: Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
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