Last night, the Pistons received a big mental and physical boost as Detroit guard Jaden Ivey rejoined the lineup in the team’s 13-point win over the Milwaukee Bucks, marking his first NBA regular season appearance since Jan. 1. In his return, Ivey looked spry in his movements as he led Detroit’s bench players with 10 points en route to the Pistons’ 12th consecutive victory overall.

With Ivey rejoining the first-place Pistons, this is the most depth the Detroit squad has had to work with all season. Typically, the Pistons have had at least three players on the injury report each game, and Ivey was a stalwart among the inactive list up until now, so the explosive guard is working his way back into the Detroit lineup gradually, logging 15 minutes in his season debut. 

In his return, Ivey was able to take a bit of the ball handling duties off the plate of his backcourt teammate, Cade Cunningham, and the Pistons offense looked fluid with Ivey back at the helm. Daniss Jenkins has performed remarkably well while Ivey and Marcus Sasser have been injured, so adding Ivey back to that mixture is going to pay dividends for the Pistons this season, especially when the chemistry between Cade and Ivey is taken into account. 

“It would mean a lot to both of us just because of our relationship off the court, how much we believe in each other and how close we've gotten,” Cunningham said. “But on the court, our skill sets complement each other very well, so us being on the floor and getting time together to be able to grow the chemistry and not even that, but really just to be in more situations and being some dog fights together. All those things, I think they all mean something. So, yeah, like I said, we're excited to have him out there. The whole team is lit about it, and we're excited about what's coming.”

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Now that Ivey is back on the court, the Pistons can begin to find a timeshare that reflects the bevy of talent currently in the Detroit locker room. This iteration of the Pistons has a lot of belief and confidence in each other, and that’s been one of Ivey’s dominant takeaways from his recovery process that encourages him about the season’s outlook. 

“I think just the togetherness that this team brings, just every possession,” Ivey said after his season debut. “I think if we continue to do that, this team can go really far down the line. I think I just see guys that are just connected right now and playing together, making the right reads defensively, where we're just executing. Obviously, our starting five, man, they're, they're tough to beat, bro. Every single night, they play together, and regardless who's out there, I think we all come together and bring something to the table every single day. So, I think it's really cool to see everybody gelling and connecting, and it's obviously leading to a lot of our success right now.”

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Though Ivey has only played one game back with the Pistons, he’s been a visible member of the squad over the last 10 and a half months. Ivey was on the bench during Detroit’s playoff series against the Knicks in April, and he worked with his Pistons teammates during training camp before the team jumped out to a 14-2 start to the season. Now, Ivey is finally able to contribute to Detroit’s success on the court, and he’s eager to help keep the Pistons in the driver’s seat of the Eastern Conference.

Next up, Ivey will have an opportunity to continue making strides against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, Nov. 24 at 7 pm.

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