The Cleveland Cavaliers traded Caris LeVert to the Hawks before the February deadline, where he finished out the 2024-25 season before he signed a two-year, $29 million deal with the Pistons in free agency. He got off to a bit of a slow start in Detroit, and missed a few games with a hamstring injury, but in six of the Pistons' last eight games, he's scored in double digits.
LeVert is coming off a season-high 19 points (5-of-9 shooting), three assists, one rebound, one block, and one steal in 23 minutes off the bench during Detroit's 122-117 win on Monday. One of his three made three-pointers happened late in the game, when Indiana tried to stage a comeback. It couldn't have come at a better time, as the shot helped lead Detroit to its 13th straight win, tying a franchise record.
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren's play has rightfully dominated headlines for the Pistons, but their depth is also a large part of the reason they're sitting at the top of the East with a 15-2 record. Daniss Jenkins has generated a lot of hype, as he's averaging 10.8 points per game in his second season, but LeVert's shot creation and defensive capabilities have made him the team's top bench player.
Over the last eight games, LeVert is averaging 12.1 points, 3.9 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per game, shooting 54.8% from the field and 45.2% from three. It took him several games to acclimate to his new team, and he's still in the process of doing that, but his numbers over the past few weeks speak for themselves.
Caris LeVert's two-way output is boosting the Pistons' bench
When LeVert arrived in Cleveland in 2022, he did so after starting in every game he played for Indiana over the past year. In his first full season with the Cavaliers, 2022-23, he started in 30 of the 74 games he played. In what ended up being his final full season in Ohio, 2023-24, LeVert averaged 14 points, 5.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 68 games (10 starts). It was his best season in Cleveland.
What LeVert has brought to Detroit off the bench is what he did in Cleveland. His scoring punch off the bench is enough of a plus, but his activity on the defensive end is a bonus.
It's still early in the season, but LeVert's 41% three-point shooting percentage would be a career high for him. He's averaging 3.3 three-point shots per game, the lowest since he was a rookie, but the fact that he's knocking down shots from deep at an efficient rate is a plus for a team that sits at the bottom of the league in made threes per game. Still, Detroit is winning.
Before the season started, most believed that either the Cavaliers or the Knicks would represent the East in the conference finals, and while that could happen, the Pistons are building their case. We're still months away from the playoffs, but what Detroit is doing right now is no fluke. LeVert can help the Pistons do what was unthinkable two years ago.