Detroit Pistons: Every starter’s Achilles heel in 2018-19

Luke Kennard: On-ball defense

Next to Jackson, the Pistons need a defensive standout. Luke Kennard is not that guy. He does his best work on the offensive end of the floor, specifically shooting outside of 10 feet. While he has room to grow closer to the rim, his defense leaves more to be desired at the end of the day. His lack of elite athleticism and strength allows him to be taken advantage of in the pick-and-roll, as well as on switches.

Casey makes his defenses switch more than they did under Stan Van Gundy, but they don’t switch everything such as teams like the Golden State Warriors. At the end of the day, that is the type of team they’re attempting to beat. The Warriors are the standard against which every team is measured. While the Pistons won’t knock them off their thrones this season, Kennard needs to improve on the defensive end before they can start approaching their ceiling.

On-ball defense is an area of Kennard’s game that he has to improve, or he must maintain it while improving drastically on the offensive end. Kennard is a player in the mold of J.J. Redick, who lacks great defensive chops, but he makes up for it on the offensive end. Kennard can be taken advantage on defense this season unless he makes serious strides. Casey should try to pair Kennard with defensively savvy players in order to hide his weaknesses until he develops.