The Detroit Pistons are trying to survive the final stretch of the regular season without their star guard, Cade Cunningham. They have a four-game lead over the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics with ten games left in the regular season, so the Pistons feel good about their chances to have home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. But, they still have to find some solutions, especially on the offensive end, in case Cunningham misses more time than expected.
So far, Caris LeVert hasn't been that solution. Tasked with a larger offensive load in Cunningham's absence, LeVert hasn't been able to provide the Pistons with what they are looking for. In fact, the veteran shooting guard remains Detroit's weakest link heading into the postseason.
Caris LeVert Continues to Fail the Pistons
The Pistons have been playing well and winning games even without Cunningham. While the Atlanta Hawks ended their winning streak on Wednesday, it's safe to say that the Pistons have largely fared better than many had expected. The same can't be said about LeVert.
LeVert's usage rate went up significantly from 18 percent to 21.2 percent over the last five games. His efficiency, however, didn't follow suit. He is 7/23 from the field in his last three games, including 0/8 from three. His 51.9 percent True Shooting since Cunningham went out is in line with LeVert's season-long efficiency. Putting up 8.2 points and 4.0 assists in 18.8 minutes per game isn't going to be enough to make up for the offense the Pistons lose with Cunningham sidelined.
The fact that LeVert isn't trusted to play over 20 minutes a game, even when Cunningham and Marcus Sasser are out, is not a good sign for his playoff viability. This puts a ton of pressure on Daniss Jenkins, who is averaging over 40 minutes per game in the last three contests. The 24-year-old point guard has performed admirably and helped keep the Pistons afloat, but he needs help shouldering the load.
Against Atlanta, Jenkins ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and overtime, going 1/4 from the field for four points and an assist. As a result, the Pistons couldn't score efficiently down the stretch and lost 130-129.
Looking at the reasons the Pistons lost the game, however, getting outscored by 15 points in LeVert's 15 minutes should be near the top of the list.
Head coach JB Bickerstaff never wavered in his belief in LeVert despite the veteran's constant struggles throughout the season. When the team needs him the most, however, LeVert is nowhere to be seen. Whether this means that LeVert will see a reduction in his minutes when Cunningham returns remains to be seen, but the 31-year-old shooting guard's first season in Detroit continues to frustrate the fans.