Detroit Pistons: Five Predictions For The 2015-2016 NBA Season

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Will Have A Breakout Season

Oct 18, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Detroit Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) attempts a dunk against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

In hindsight and looking closely, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a pretty successful season last year in his sophomore campaign. He shot more, played more, and his shooting percentages actually improved.

But if there was one problem with Caldwell-Pope, it would be his home/road splits. For some reason, he just performed so much worse on the road.

Take these numbers into consideration, at home he averaged 15.5 points on 44.5 FG%, 39.4 3pt FG%, and 55.8 TS% per game. In contrast, on the road he averaged a mere 9.9 points on 35.0 FG%, 28.0 3pt FG%, and 43.2 TS% per game.

The drop-off between a home and an away game for Caldwell-Pope is staggering. There aren’t too many players have such dramatic splits. He has to improve significantly on the road to become a much more consistent player.

On the positive side though, based on his production at home, those are spectacular numbers from a 21-year-old Shooting Guard. If he can sustain those over the course of an entire season, the rest of the league better watch out.

An uptick in his shooting numbers will be important too. If he can continue to becoming a better shooter while also increasing his volume of shots, he can be a valuable cog to the Pistons’ rotation as a 3-and-D type player.

For this prediction, I think Caldwell-Pope will have a season where he’ll be respected league-wide for his abilities. He’s one of the quickest players on the floor and his athleticism is purely explosive.

Somewhere along the lines of 15-16 PPG on 43 FG% and 37 3pt FG% is my prediction for him this year. With the way he improved his sophomore campaign with the uptick in playing time, I think this is reasonable for a young player like him.

Caldwell-Pope will only be 22-years-old this NBA season. Young players like him improve all the time. And in his case, I think he’ll put it together while developing with the rest of this team’s young core.

Next: Playoffs?