The Detroit Pistons were atrocious from distance this season. In the wake of their performance, Stan Van Gundy aims to approach this offseason differently.
The Detroit Pistons didn’t do a lot of things well this season. One of the most evident areas they were weak was consistent shooting from the perimeter.
While one could make the argument for a lack of shooting talent on the roster, Van Gundy believes it was the team’s approach last offseason that lead to such a disappointing showing.
"“It’s a little bit different for every guy, but our approach (has to improve),” Van Gundy said at last week’s season-ending news conference.“I do not think our guys got enough game-speed, game-shot three-point shooting in over the summer last year. That’s the one thing I thought needs to be corrected, and we’ll try to move in that direction.”“The way we go about it — sort of our schedule, in terms of summer workouts — I think needs to be a little bit different,” Van Gundy said. “In terms of the way they work on their shooting has got to be a little bit different, and what we focus on has to be a little bit different. And then for each individual, it’s different corrections.”"
In today’s NBA, it is always a good idea to find ways to improve the team’s overall shooting. This is a good start, but what will make the biggest impact, in all likelihood, is putting better shooting talent on the team.
As good as Ish Smith was at times this season, he isn’t exactly a model of consistency from the perimeter. The same goes for Stanley Johnson, and Marcus Morris. (And it’s too early to tell on guys like Henry Ellenson and Darrun Hilliard who have played in limited games).
Hopefully the Pistons can upgrade their roster by adding more shooters, though that isn’t always a sure-fire way to improve shooting. Adding shooting talent is essential, but of equal importance is making sure the team is taking good shots, which is often a product of ball movement.
Next: Detroit Pistons season wrap up, part I
The underlying message here is the team has a lot to aim for this offseason.