Candidate #2: Henry Ellenson
Just simply finding a spot in the rotation could be viewed as a breakout for Ellenson, a player who has played a total of 475 minutes through 2 seasons. His numbers have not been great either in those 475 minutes, as he sports a career average of 3.7 points per game on 36.2 percent shooting from the field and 31.6 percent shooting from 3-point range. A lot of Pistons fans are ready to call Ellenson a bust, especially after his poor showing as a 3rd-year player in the Las Vegas Summer League in July. However, you cannot give up on a player that you spent a first-round pick on after only 2 seasons in which he barely got a chance to play.
Luckily for Ellenson, he gets a fresh start under Dwane Casey, a coach who has a solid reputation at developing players. Casey made it a point to mention the Pistons young players in Ellenson, Johnson, and Luke Kennard at his introductory press conference. That means he is going to give them a chance to earn their playing time. Ellenson’s path to playing time is not that competitive. He obviously has Blake Griffin at his natural position of power forward, but the expected backup to Griffin, Jon Leuer, had knee surgery and could miss training camp. That gives Ellenson an opportunity to step up and claim his spot while Leuer is out.
Ellenson has the skills to be in the NBA on offense, it is just about making shots. He puts the ball on the floor well for somebody his size, and has a pretty decent package of offensive moves. He is a very poor defender, but he came out of college with the reputation as an offensive player. Ellenson did showcase this offensive package during Summer League, he just shot the ball so poorly that it overshadowed what he was able to do in terms of creating shots.
Making shots is going to be the key to Ellenson finding a place in the Pistons rotation and possibly breaking out. If he makes his shots, he can get minutes with the bench unit despite being a poor defender. Last season in the 9 games that Ellenson averaged more than 15 minutes, he averaged 11.4 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from 3. This goes to show that Ellenson can play as long as he is given an opportunity to play through some mistakes and get comfortable.
Many Pistons fans are down on Ellenson as a prospect, and that is completely fair. I have always been high on Ellenson as a prospect and remain so because there is still so much mystery about what he can do when he gets consistent playing time. He is very high on my list of Pistons players I expect to breakout this season.
Next Up: Candidate #3
