Detroit Pistons: 3 takeaways from Game 2 loss vs. Bucks

3. Kennard should have been starting all along

Not including the playoffs, Kennard has started just 10 games this season. He’s often been relegated to coming off the bench as a sixth man, but head coach Dwane Casey changed things up for game 2.

It worked out, as Kennard ended up leading the team in scoring. He also led the team in 3-point shooting on the night as he finished 4-of-6 from downtown.

Playing Kennard with the starters has benefits for him, but it also has benefits for the rest of the team. He gives them more spacing, and he has the benefit of playing alongside other good players that the opposing team’s defense has to account for. If Kennard isn’t starting for the remainder of the series, whether that’s for two more games or five more games, it would be a massive mistake by Casey.

Kennard should receive a boost to his shooting, based on his performance at home during the regular season, as his shooting percentages were better at home than it was on the road.

At home he shot 44.2 percent from the field compared to 43.5 percent on the road. He shot 40.8 percent from beyond the arc at home compared to 38.1 percent on the road.

Kennard is a key building block for this team moving forward, and, even if he isn’t the team’s best two-way player, he needs to be on the floor because of his offensive talent.