Jalen Duren wasn’t the only player to deal with a setback during Wednesday night’s game between the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets. Veteran guard Jaden Ivey was down a bit, visibly uncomfortable. It took him a while to get up and back to the Pistons’ bench as he dealt with shin pain.

When Ivey left the floor early in the fourth quarter, he had spent 27 minutes on the court. He had another solid game, shooting 7-15 from the field and knocking down a couple of 3-pointers to produce 17 points.

Ivey also had three rebounds and four assists throughout the outing.

This year, Ivey got off to a red start. Despite questions about his fit with Cade Cunningham over the summer, Ivey’s progress has made the Pistons duo an excellent matchup throughout the 2024-25 NBA season thus far.

Through eight games, Ivey has posted nearly 20 points per game while shooting at a career-high clip from the field and deep. Ivey knocked down 47 percent of his field goals and made nearly 40 percent from three.

Along with his scoring, Ivey pulled down five rebounds off the glass and dished out four assists per game.

In the early part of the games, the Pistons struggled to finish games on top despite putting up a good fight. Last Wednesday, the Pistons defeated the Philadelphia 76ers for their first win of the season. Two games later, the Pistons got their second win over the Brooklyn Nets.

On Monday night, Ivey and the Pistons hosted the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite being underdogs, the Pistons pulled off the upset win over LA. Ivey was instrumental in that matchup, producing a game-high 26 points on 62 percent shooting from the field.

Wednesday’s game served as an opportunity for Ivey and the Pistons to build on their first back-to-back wins of the year. In the midst of the road battle in Charlotte, the Pistons lost starting center Jalen Duren. Ivey had his second scare of the night when he exited after taking a knee to the shin.

Fortunately, Ivey pushed through the pain and returned for the Pistons with about six minutes left.