Breaking Down Rookie Jaden Ivey's 30-Point Performance
Following his breakout sophomore season at Purdue, Jaden Ivey was selected fifth overall by the Detroit Pistons in June. After receiving oodles of top-three buzz, many considered this pick to be a steal, and given his averages of 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game thus far, it’s evident why many felt this way about the rookie sensation.
Tuesday night, Ivey recorded the first 30-point performance of his career in just his 29th NBA game. He did so efficiently, only taking just 14 shots. Additionally, he dished out five assists in Detroit’s loss to Utah. Motor City got a glimpse into what their budding offensive star could be doing on a regular basis in due time. Let’s dive into what he did well on offense and the next steps he must take.
Attacking The Rim
The calling card for Jaden Ivey has always been his violent explosiveness. The 6-foot-4 guard boasts arguably the quickest first step in basketball, and his ensuing steps are similarly impressive. All night, he used his blazing speed to leave defenders in the dust, both in transition and against Utah’s set defense. His finishing was great too, mixing in some floaters and spectacular contorting layups with the easy looks. The result of this interior onslaught: 4-for-5 shooting at the rim, double-digit free throw attempts, and an awesome highlight reel.
According to Synergy Sports, he’s been shooting 55.1% at the rim to this point, which ranks in just the 23rd percentile of all players. This mark has been a bit underwhelming, but performances like this emphasize just how immense Ivey’s potential as a slasher really is.
Confidently Making 3s
For many, the biggest pre-draft question regarding Jaden Ivey was his shooting ability. While he’s had a shaky start from deep (30.8% on the season), he made both of his attempts on Tuesday night. Most notably, he looked confident doing so. He stepped into these catch-and-shoot looks with no hesitation, and drilled them, which was encouraging to see. If he can get to a point where he’s consistently hitting catch-and-shoot triples, he’ll become even more destructive given his violent closeout attacks.
Mid-Range Scoring
With such a prevalent blow-by threat, defenders often sag off of Ivey to prioritize keeping him in front of them to protect the rim. This gives him space to score in the mid-range.
Utah guarded Ivey pick-and-rolls by dropping their big back to the rim and giving up these mid-range looks, and he pulled up and made them pay. He shot 4-for-7 on these attempts, and flashed some creative counters with pristine footwork, shifts in pace, and silky touch. It’s extremely promising that he’s already developing methods of scoring to fall back on when defenses focus on taking away the interior.
Passing
For a guy who’s so adept at breaking down defenses and forcing rotations, passing is key in order for Ivey to create offense when help is sent. Against Utah, he repeatedly made the right play. He wasn't out there dropping gorgeous dimes, but he did a good job creating angles to pass to open teammates after pressuring the rim. He even showed off some manipulation chops, freeing up teammates by moving off-ball defenders with his eyes, ball fakes, and movement patterns. The ability to deliver these smart passes makes it reasonable to allocate a large on-ball responsibility to Ivey.
The Next Step
As he continues to improve as a shooter, the biggest area of improvement for Ivey is to finish his drives with a little more control. He kills defenses with speed, but too often he lets his momentum carry him away, and jumps without a plan, hoping a pass or a finishing angle will open up.
The problem is that taking an attack to the air puts a timer on it, as the ball needs to be out of Ivey’s hands before he lands to avoid traveling. Air-bound freestyling is something basketball players should avoid as a whole, it’s a poor gamble and we see this principle a lot with Ivey. Sometimes he can use his freakish athleticism to make something out of nothing, but jumping without a plan usually leads to turnovers and forced shots from him; it even did in the best game of his young career on Tuesday night.
Anthony Edwards, another monster athlete, really struggled with this issue as well early in his career. He would frequently cap off his drives by heaving himself at the rim and hoping for the best. Over the past 2 seasons he’s done a great job replacing these possessions with well-timed passes, or by keeping his dribble alive to hunt for more favorable finishing angles.
It’ll take some time for Ivey to get into the habit of ending drives in a more disciplined manner, but it’s a vital development. However, there’s good reason to believe it lays on the horizon as it did for Edwards. Just like his acceleration, his deceleration ability sits near the top of the league. On many occasions Ivey’s displayed the capacity to instantly hit the brakes while moving at top speed, it’s all about getting into this habit as he continues his ascent to stardom.
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