Maurice Cheeks says Brandon Jennings needs more time to learn
By Ryan Donoho
Maurice Cheeks is a hall of fame point guard, and he is now the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. Those Pistons had a big off-season, signing Josh Smith, and completing a sign and trade for Brandon Jennings.
It is up to Cheeks to make all these pieces fit, and he is relying on Brandon Jennings to get the ball where it needs to be. So far, the Pistons have been lackluster, sitting at 6-10 on the season. The floor spacing is an issue, but Cheeks thinks Jennings can get this thing on track with some more time:
"Cheeks knew where everyone on the floor was supposed to be — or supposed to be going. When they weren’t, he told them. Jennings is trying to learn that now, after a life of seeking out space to shoot.“It takes a certain amount of time for a guy to do that if that if they haven’t been doing it that way their wholecareer,” Cheeks said. “I don’t think it’s just an overnight thing, I think Brandon is learning a little of that.”“It’s very important to figure out where a (teammate) should be and direct him where to go,” Cheeks said. “It’s not an overnight thing where you learn how to play with Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, Josh Smith.”Cheeks knew where everyone on the floor was supposed to be — or supposed to be going. When they weren’t, he told them. Jennings is trying to learn that now, after a life of seeking out space to shoot.“It takes a certain amount of time for a guy to do that if that if they haven’t been doing it that way their wholecareer,” Cheeks said. “I don’t think it’s just an overnight thing, I think Brandon is learning a little of that.”“It’s very important to figure out where a (teammate) should be and direct him where to go,” Cheeks said. “It’s not an overnight thing where you learn how to play with Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, Josh Smith.”"
The Pistons should shake up their lineup, and stick either Monroe or Smith into the sixth man role, as they need some shooting. As for Jennings, he’s always been known as a scoring point guard, and spending some time with Cheeks and Chauncey Billups should theoretically help him find a good balance. We will see if time can fix this Pistons team.