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Detroit Bad Boys returns from a holiday hiatus to again infect the Detroit Free Press with its particular brand of cogent analysis and mediocre writing. Today we look at Brandon Jennings, who many assumed would be shipped on the first bus out of town in a trade as soon as he recovered from his achilles injury.
Instead, however, he is shaping up to be an indispensable piece of a possible playoff run. At the Free Press we count off the top five reasons Jennings isn't going anywhere. Here is an excerpt, but I encourage you to click over to read the whole thing as well as like, comment and share, so the Free Press knows they should continue to put up with our rambling.
Reggie Jackson is playing great, but can be inconsistent. Jackson has quieted many doubters since signing an $80 million deal in the off-season. While he has played at a near All-Star level, he is still prone to off nights. The Pistons are so pick-and-roll heavy, before Jennings' return, the team could only reliably go as far as Jackson could take them on any given night. With Jennings in the fold, Van Gundy can provide Jackson more rest and sit him when he gets frustrated and over dribbles while trying to penetrate the defense.
Jennings and Jackson can play together. Van Gundy also has the option to employ a two point guard attack, and Jennings and Jackson have the size and shooting to make it effective. Jennings shot a solid 36 percent from deep last season and Jackson is hitting at a career-high 35 percent clip this year. That means the off-ball guard could stretch the floor as a perimeter threat, while on defense Jackson has the size at 6-foot-3 to body up shooting guards. Van Gundy also likes to have secondary ball handlers on the floor to pair with point guards to take some pressure off, and without Jennings, he doesn't really have that.
What say you, DBB? Is Jennings essentially untradeable during this playoff push or would you still send him out if the return was, say, an average backup PG and a first-round pick?