Sometimes all it takes is a night off.

There was some concern that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's sore Achilles could pose a problem moving forward after he checked out of Wednesday's game after just 3:29 of play. That's not the case, however, as the Detroit Pistons shooting guard will play Friday against the Denver Nuggets.

The sophomore out of Georgia is averaging 11.9 points, a major spike from the 5.9 he averaged as a rookie. He's played better and scored slightly more efficiently, but his leap in scoring is mostly a product of circumstance.

Desperate for floor spacing, head coach Stan Van Gundy has given Caldwell-Pope free reign to fire from outside, something he hasn't been shy about. Caldwell-Pope is taking 5.2 3-point attempts per night, hitting on 35.1 percent of those looks, nearly three-quarters of which are of the catch-and-shoot variety.

Had Caldwell-Pope been forced from the lineup, the Pistons would be missing their two highest-volume 3-point shooters, as Brandon Jennings is out for the season.