Approximately four weeks ago, in the pregame of Detroit’s Jan. 26 encounter with the Brooklyn Nets, Dwane Casey decided to put the offense in the hands of Jaden Ivey. The rookie guard was given lead guard duties, while point guard Killian Hayes was sent to the bench in favor of veteran off guard Alec Burks.
In the aftermath of the Pistons’ hard-fought victory over the Nets, Casey explained the lineup change was implemented to avoid the team’s slew of recent poor starts to games:
“Competing, not digging ourselves in a hole. We had an excellent practice yesterday, divided teams up like today.