Brandon “Knightmare” Knight

In my second excerpt of the Detroit Pistons rosters we will look at Brandon Knight. We will discuss he strengths and weaknesses. Also what Brandon can improve on this offseason, his new role, and overall impact on the team with Maurice Cheeks being his new head coach.

Before the NBA
Brandon Knight was born in Miami Florida and has the distinction of being named one of only three juniors in high school to be Gatorade National Player of the year joining Greg Oden (2005) and Lebron James(2002). Knight is a two time winner of the Gatorade National Player of the Year winning it in 2009 and 2010. Knight is second all time in scoring in the state of Florida scoring an absurd 3,515 in roughly three and half seasons. He missed nearly half of his junior year. Knight’s senior year in high school he averaged 32.5ppg, 8.6rpg, 3.9apg, and 2.5spg at Pine Crest High School in 2009-2010 season. Knight agreed to sign with Kentucky coming out of high school. While at Kentucky Brandon Knight he averaged 17.3ppg, 4.2apg, and 4rpg while his team made it to the Final Four in 2011. After his freshmen season Brandon Knight elected to forego his final three years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft.
Becoming and Being a Pistons
Brandon Knight was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the eighth overall selection in the 2011. Brandon Knight was selected to the NBA Rising Star in 2012 and 2013 and was named to the NBA All Rookie team in 2012. In his rookie year Knight averaged 12.8ppg, 3.8apg, and 3.2rpg while shooting .415% from the field. In Knight second season he averaged 13.3ppg, 4apg, and 3.3rpg while shooting .407% from the field.
Knightmare’s Game
Brandon Knight game has plenty of room to grow but he has shown flashes and the propensity to make the big shot in the clutch. The more and more I review film on Brandon Knight the more I become torn on whether he is a scoring first point guard or a true combo guard. On one hand he seems to be a true combo guard because he has never averaged 5 assist per game or more. Then on the other hand I think about how every team he has ever played on needed him to score first and pass second. Either way the assist total needs to go up for him to be effective as a combo or a true point guard. These are issues where I think Maurice Cheeks can do wonders with Brandon Knight. Cheeks will help Knight by calling sets for him and helping him understand what is expected of him as a player, point guard, and a leader. No matter what people say about Russell Westbrook under the guidance of Maurice Cheeks, Westbrook averaged 7.4apg last season and career 6.9apg. For Knight to improve his assist number he will need another outside scorer who can create their own shot also. Knight can fill it up on offense but I would love to see his shooting percentage in all three aspects increase by improving on it this offseason. The three aspects being free throw percentage, overall shooting percentage, and three point percentage are vital to any scorer especially guards because guards usually don’t get most of their points in the paint meaning close to the rim.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is simply for Knight to become a better player he needs another perimeter scorer who can create their own shot but has range. Court spacing is imperative with the athletes in today game and when you fail to make the other team respect every inch of the court then your one dimensional and other teams will make the things you do well harder making you beat them with your weaknesses and it’s called strategy. I expect Knight assist numbers to rise significantly with the Pistons getting better shooting via free agency, the NBA draft, and Andre Drummond minutes improving drastically. Knights is only 21 years old and is still learning the NBA game and getting acclimated to his teammates. A new coaching regime where Maurice Cheeks is the head coach and a former point guard will definitely give Knight insight into the game and strategy that maybe his wasn’t as privy to before. People should also realize that point guard is the quarterback on the floor and it is maybe the hardest position to play in the NBA because you have to read, process, make a decision and put people in the right space all while on the move and in 24 seconds.