He played 29 minutes, more than any other Detroit Pistons reserve, but for Daniss Jenkins, the most important minute may have been the last one, because he was still out there, center stage, when it mattered, when it was winning time. And here came a last ditch 3-point attempt by Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, a seven-time NBA All-Star.
Jenkins, all of 24 years old, was draped on him like flypaper. Mitchell shot wildly and the miss came loose, and Jenkins threw himself into the scramble, plucked the ball away – not only from Mitchell, but also from James Harden, an 11-time NBA All-Star, and whoosh! Off Jenkins flew, speeding the length of the court for an exclamation jam.
He was the longest of long shots to be here, the man who came in from the cold. But as he pounded that rim, for a micro-moment, it could have been just him up there, the crowd roaring, his unlikely dream reaching another eye-blinking level.
They say in sports, it’s not who starts, it’s who finishes. Jenkins just played the final 9½ minutes of Game 1 of these Eastern Conference semifinals, more than any other Piston (including Cade Cunningham). He hit key shots, rocketed for rebounds, poked away loose balls, and helped push his team over the top.
For a man who began this season on the contractual equivalent of a Motel 6, this was a hell of a moment.
“I’m just trying to make a name for myself,” Jenkins said after his timely 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists off the bench were a big part of the Pistons’ 111-101 victory on Tuesday, May 5, at Little Caesars Arena. “Just to prove to myself, you know, that I’m meant to be here.”
Does anybody doubt that anymore? Jenkins did his job – and pretty much everyone else on the Pistons’ roster did, too. Jalen Duren had 12 rebounds, two blocks and six straight points in the paint when it mattered most. Duncan Robinson was banging 3-pointers from all over. Tobias Harris had another steady 20-point night. Ausur Thompson was, again, ridiculously everywhere: blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, spinning for assists.
And Cunningham, who looked a tad weary from the grueling seven-game series against Orlando that had just ended 50 hours earlier, nonetheless rose to the occasion when he needed to, with key assists and some backbreaking jumpers.
But it was Jenkins who brought the biggest smile.
From a spark, flames
Remember, this is a guy nobody wanted, a guy who played college ball in four different programs, went undrafted and finally signed a two-way contract with Detroit – which basically means you have one foot in the G League and one in the Association – while only getting paid about half of the NBA rookie minimum.
From that to this: Tuesday night. Jenkins entered the game for Cunningham with 6:41 left in the first quarter and promptly stole the ball and streaked for a layup, then hit a 15-foot jumper then hit a short three-footer. Three straight Detroit baskets. If he defined “spark off the bench” any better, it would burst into flames.
“He’s grown,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Jenkins after the win. “That’s the story of DJ. Every step of the way, you watch him learn and grow and take the experience and become better for it.”
Of course, he did have some ways go in his growth. Those of you watching these playoffs remember Jenkins’ previous Game 1 – at LCA against the Magic two weeks ago. He looked like a puppy sprung from the Christmas box. He was everywhere, all at once, but not in a good way. If we’d put a meter on him, it would have registered a 300-volt current.
“You can’t simulate the playoffs,” Jenkins explained Tuesday night, acknowledging his rocky start. “That first round, that first game – the first two games – I was trying too hard to make the play. I was overly excited. My energy was just too much, and I had to relax, and I had to go through it. … You can’t simulate the pressure. Can’t simulate the atmosphere. … It was just something I needed for my career to prepare me for this next series.
“Like, I was telling the guys today, [Tuesday’s game] was just like, an extended season, you know what I mean? Just like another game.”
That’s some fast maturity. But Jenkins has gotten good at that. What choice is there when the league you dream of doesn’t dream of you? He kept working, kept trying, never dropped his head. When his chance came with Detroit, he grabbed it. And when Cunningham went out with a collapsed lung in March, and the team suddenly didn’t just want Jenkins, it needed him, he made the most of it.
“I just knew, I always knew,” Jenkins said, when asked about his confidence. “Like I always say, ‘Why not me? …
“When you’re growing up, nobody knows who’s gonna turn out to be what. It’s about what’s inside your heart, and then how much work you put in, and then you need a little bit of luck, and you got to go to the right situations. And that’s all I’ve been doing.”
If he keeps doing it, he’ll give the Pistons another X-factor that championship-hopeful teams must have on their bench. You don’t win big without them.
2-pointers a reason to celebrate
Which brings us to Robinson, Detroit’s two-guard. He played 28 minutes Tuesday night, one less than Jenkins. But Robinson, who is basically the Pistons’ Doc Holliday – the sharpest shooter in the gang – did exactly what he was supposed to do in those minutes, and then some. He hit five 3-pointers in seven tries, sending the crowd to its feet every time. He provided the outlet when his teammates drove inside. And then, for good measure, he drove a few times himself, hitting two floaters in the lane that helped put the icing on his 19-point night.
“Yeah, I like mixing it up every now and then” Robinson joked postgame. “That’s something I’ve worked throughout in my career. I think I set the record in my second year for most percentage of shots that were just [3-pointers.] So I’ve made it a point to try and expand that. …
“I try not to celebrate 3s, because I like to act like I’ve been there before. But the times I will celebrate are when I mix it up and get a 2.”
Hey, go ahead. Live it up. When guys like Robinson and Jenkins are fulfilling their roles, the Pistons have a great shot at going far in the postseason. They say in a seven-game playoff series, you need to capture two games by your superstars, one game by your defense or coaching, and one game by your role players stepping up. They refer to these guys, at times, as “the others.”
Although several Detroit starters had big nights on Tuesday, Game 1 was one of those victories for “the others.” Yes, it was Detroit’s first postseason win against Cleveland in its past 13 tries – ending an ignoble NBA-record skid for one team against another in the playoffs. But that’s gone now. So is the 18-year wait for Detroit to win a series opener.
The Pistons are shedding these bad milestones night after night, coming into their own, four straight playoff wins now, another game at home on Thursday night. Take this in, folks. In a very short time, we went from wondering if this team was going to made a quick and ugly exit from the postseason to watching a couple of undrafted guards help defeat a team whose starting backcourt has a combined 18 All-Star selections.
It only goes to show: It’s persistence, not pedigree. Long after the arena had emptied, Jenkins and fellow benchmate Paul Reed were walking down an LCA corridor when a rush of reporters approached and asked if Jenkins could come into the press room.
He obliged, and Reed followed. The big man then sat down amongst the media, and played reporter, asking Jenkins a question.
“At the end of the game, you had a fastbreak dunk,” Reed said. “You could have done a lot of damage, but you chose ‘the back scratcher.’ Why did you choose that particular dunk?”
Jenkins held back a chuckle.
“I think,” he said, “that was the most exciting but yet the safest play.”
Everybody laughed. Daniss Jenkins, the man in came in from the cold, was center stage. And, like Robinson, there was nothing “other” about him. He belonged.
Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow @mitchalbom on x.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mitch Albom: Pistons’ others show they belong, and so does Detroit
Reporting by Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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