There are a lot of young stars in the NBA. A lot of ability, almost too much, because it can be hard for teams to find time for new players.
Developing prospects needs a lot of things, from a player ready to put in the work to a chance that comes up. Things might only go right by chance every once in a while. But in the end, minutes are the most important thing.
In-game time is what makes progress possible. The off-season work is done in a controlled setting and might appear in a pick-up game or summer league. But there’s no better way to get reps than to play in a real NBA game.
This is the reason why minutes are so important for growth. Young players can only grow if they get enough time, and their team can learn who they are and how to use them best if they get enough time.
For the guys below, getting more minutes is important. They also need them as soon as possible.
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
Ivey was picked fifth in the last draft only two years ago. Last season, he had a good rookie year with the bad Detroit Pistons. He averaged 16.3 points and made the all-rookie team. But there’s one catch: he needs to play more under new coach Monty Williams.
Ivey has missed a few games because he was sick. He needed to get more game time before that, though. Ivey used to sleep for 31.1 minutes a night, but now he only sleeps for 20.7 minutes. That doesn’t make sense—he lost a third of his miles.
Ivey is making 49% of his shots from the field and 49% of his three-point shots in those 20 minutes, scoring an average of 11.8 points. That is more effective than what he did last season. The defense needs work, but young guards often have that problem. He brings a lot to the table, and since he can spread the floor, it should be easy for him to play with Cade Cunningham.
What’s worse is that the Pistons are wasting a valuable top-five pick by not starting Ivey or playing him much. It does not make sense. The starting backcourt as a whole makes 32.6 percent of their three-point shots. That’s on top of the fact that Ausar Thompson shoots 16.7 percent from three, which means there are three places where he can’t shoot.
It’s a mistake for Detroit not to play Ivey. We’re also still working on the Pistons.
Marcus Sasser, Detroit Pistons
Also, Marcus Sasser should get more time. The late first-round pick has had a great start to the season. He makes 55.7 percent of his shots from the field and 50 percent of his three-point shots. Sasser should play more minutes than the 19.6 he does every game.
With only a few games played so far, the shooting rates may level off as the season goes on. But Sasser has also played better defense in the mix than the guards who came before him. When he’s on the court, the Pistons’ defense gets a rating of 112, and their total rating is 112.5.
This brings up a big question: who on the Pistons shouldn’t play?
That’s pretty simple: Killian Hayes was picked seventh in the 2020 draft. He shoots 39.1% from the field and 32.6 % from three-point range and averages 30.2 minutes per game. Even though Hayes averages 4.8 assists per game, it is hard to see why you would play him over Sasser and Ivey since he could be better offensively. Having Hayes, Sasser, or Ivey on the court has yet to make a big difference in how well the defense is working.
The Pistons should give Ivey and Sasser more playing time instead of Hayes. They need to learn how to use their younger players and help them grow.
Moses Moody, Golden State Warriors
The last time Golden State played was four years ago, and it has only been three years since they won a title. Some people liked Moses Moody during that gap year. Now it’s time to see what they have in store for him.
The numbers from Moody’s aren’t shocking. He scores 7.2 points a night by making 47.1 percent of his shots from the field and 35.5% of his threes. The scary thing is that the Golden State Warriors have a 14.1 net rating when he’s on the court. There were nine games in the group, which isn’t a lot, but it’s not nothing either.
From last season to this season, the Warriors did give Moody more playing time. He played 17.5 minutes more in each game than he did before. It’s better, but getting that number up to 20 minutes would help him grow and give Golden State the information they need about Moody.
Moody is splitting minutes with Gary Payton II right now, and their numbers look strangely alike. At this point, it’s the Spider-Man-pointing joke.
The main difference is that Moody is 10 years younger than her.
It might be time to put more time into Moody and use Payton as a backup in an emergency.
AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
With a youngster who plays almost 20 minutes a game and helps the team’s net rating, it’s likely that player will get at least the same number of minutes the next season, even more so if that youngster had hit two game-winning hits.
AJ Griffin hasn’t had that happen to him.
Griffin looked like a young backup player for the Hawks last season, but his minutes have dropped from 19.5 to 9.2 this season. Griffin has been playing little because the Atlanta Hawks are having a great start to the season. It takes a lot of work to get minutes for him.
Griffin has done better in his short runs, like when he went from 39 percent to 45.5 percent in three games, despite the small sample size. That might not be real because he has only made 11 threes. Griffin is a good player, as he showed last season.
Atlanta plans to keep Trae Young and Dejounte Murray on the court for longer than 34 minutes to begin the season. The person behind them is Bogdan Bogdanović, who plays an average of 24 minutes every night. De’Andre Hunter and Saddiq Bey fill the wings. Griffin should not use up all of his time.
Griffin should play more minutes, but it might not happen with the Hawks unless someone gets hurt. Should the chance arise, Atlanta could trade Griffin to a team that needs a young player for the bench in exchange for a valuable player.
Toumani Camara, Portland Trail Blazers
Quick, don’t look this up; finish this sentence: When (blank) is on the court, the Blazers have the best net rating.
Could it be Shaedon Sharpe? Nope. Have you heard of Jerami Grant? Also, not him. Then it has to be Deandre Ayton. Still needs to be right.
Toumani Camara is the right answer. Portland’s score goes up by 21.6 points when Camara is on the court. That’s odd since Camara only scores 8.4 points per game and doesn’t shoot very well. His defense is what makes him different. When Camara is on the court, the Blazers’ defense is rated 99.3, but when he is not, it is rated 116.9. Camara plays for about 24.8 minutes each game, which is half the game.
It makes sense for Portland to keep increasing Camara’s minutes at this point. The Blazers probably won’t be more than a lottery team this season, so building up the team should be the more important goal. That would mean giving Camara more time on the court in real games.
Camara has already shown that he is more than just a throw-in to make the move for Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Ayton work. His game will get better as he plays more minutes. He could even become an important part of the Blazers’ future.
Honorable Mention
A lot of other young players in the NBA deserve to play more minutes. It shows how good the players are in the game.
The Golden State Warriors also have two other choices. Jonathan Kuminga is in the same situation as Moses Moody. He’s finally grown up, and everyone has been waiting for it. They also have a new player named Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has shown some potential in the few minutes he has played. The Warriors’ main goal is for these young players to play well enough to give their better players more time to rest.
Jaden Hardy is another young player in Dallas who should get more playing time. The Mavericks are another team doing well and might need help ensuring he gets enough playing time. The Mavs want to keep things positive, but this is another young guy who might do better on a different team.
