Luke “The Junknard Dog” Kennard had eighteen points in the first half of this game and looked like he was on his way to an easy thirty burger. Then he only made one shot in the second half, and that was with less than two minutes to go in the game.
Since The Junknard Dog is second on the Pistons in minutes per game, it’s hard to blame Pistons coach Dwane Casey for the unfair amount of points that Kennard scored in the second half. In previous seasons, where Casey’s disdain for Kennard was apparent in the way that the rotations were structured, yeah, I would totally be blaming him for this. Nowadays, with the rotations clearly showcasing Casey’s confidence in Kennard’s scoring ability, I can’t really blame Casey for Kennard’s shortcomings and expect to be taken seriously.
That said, this is all Dwane Casey’s fault. Sure, he’s giving Kennard a lot of minutes, but he’s failed to construct the offense in such a way that Kennard’s talents both as a shooter and and as an initiator are maximized. He needs to tell the other high-usage players on the team, Drummond, Griffin, and Rose, to defer to Kennard more often. Especially Griffin. That dude is washed. You know Griffin’s not going to reduce his own role of his own accord, so Casey needs to step in as the coach and ensure that it happens. That way, Kennard won’t have any more four-point second halfs which cause me such dismay.