Jaden Ivey's Broken Leg, Thinking Playoffs, and Ron Harper Jr. | The Weekly Drive
The Pistons may have had an undefeated week, they suffered a loss in another way by losing Jaden Ivey to a broken leg.
Happy New Year Pistons fans, and welcome to the first Weekly Drive of 2025. There is some really nice basketball being played in the Motor City, and we have plenty to talk about. Some wins, some losses, and other bits and bobs as we start to see the All-Star Game and trade deadline on the horizon. Let’s get into it.
Weekly Game Recaps
Game 33: Orlando 96, Detroit 105
Rapid Detail: While the victory was encouraging to see, the real story of this game was the injury to Jaden Ivey. Magic guard Cole Anthony, diving for the ball, went right in to Ivey’s leg and caused a broken fibula. Truth be told, it looked a lot worse. More on Ivey’s injury a little later.
Game 34: Charlotte 94, Detroit 98
Rapid Detail: Did we witness the Pistons playing with their food? The Hornets were without LaMelo Ball but sprinted out to a 65-52 lead at the half before Detroit turned on the burners and outscored them 32-17 in the third quarter. Tobias Harris had a nice game, maybe his first such performance in a month, to help the Pistons take over. In the process, he crossed 15,000 career points.
Game 35: Minnesota 105, Detroit 119
Rapid Detail: What a game between two evenly-matched teams heading in separate directions. Cade Cunningham (40 points) and Anthony Edwards (53 points) dueled for all four quarters, but it was the Pistons who came out on top. Detroit sits just one game under .500, yet firmly in the Play-In Tournament discussion - if not the playoffs outright.
Jaden Ivey has a Broken Leg
The Pistons had a perfect 3-0 week, but they suffered a loss in another way. Ivey’s injury against the Magic, which admittedly looked significantly more damaging than just a break, takes some wind out of the sails for a team that is playing really well. The good news is that Ivey did not suffer any ligament damage, which should bring a huge sigh of relief. In fact, there is some optimism that Ivey could return in the regular season.
Ivey was quietly putting together a nice season averaging 17.6 points per game while shooting 40.9% from three-point territory. He looked more engaged on all fronts, but especially defensively. His warts are still present (inconsistent shooting, poor finishing, and low free throw rate), but he looked more the part of sidekick next to Cunningham. Now that is all put on hold, as discussed on the Palace of Pistons podcast.
Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff replaced Ivey in the starting lineup with Wendell Moore, though the reality is that Malik Beasley takes over the bulk of his minutes. Beasley has been excellent this season and right now may be an even better fit next to Cunningham. Surprisingly, the Pistons are well-equipped to handle the absence of their 22-year-old guard.
News and Notes
The first fan returns for All-Star voting have Cade Cunningham sitting at sixth among Eastern Conference guards, more than 100,000 votes behind the fifth-place Trae Young.
Former Piston Blake Griffin, along with NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, will be joining Taylor Rooks on Amazon’s NBA studio show starting next season according to The Athletic. Amazon recently signed an 11-year $20 billion agreement with the NBA to broadcast their games starting with the 2025-2026 season.
The Pistons will recognize NBA Hall of Fame point guard Chauncey Billups on January 6th, per a team press release. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Billups bobbled in honor of his recent induction in the hall of fame.
Detroit reportedly signed Ron Harper Jr. to a two-way contract according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The team also signed Tolu Smith and waived Alondes Williams and Cole Swider according to Jake Fischer of Marc Stein’s Substack.
Still looking for a New Year’s resolution? Here is a suggestion - don’t let good things pass you by. And checking out a Pistons game could help prevent you from failing that resolution. At the time of this writing, Detroit sits just a half-game out of the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. If nothing else, the Pistons are very clearly on the up-and-up. Don’t miss out on seeing one of the more fun teams in the NBA.
See you next week, and thanks for tuning in.
Mike