In a new series, I examine each player on the Detroit Pistons and provide my unfiltered opinion on their performance and future outlook. Next up is the silent assassin, Langston Galloway.
As fans around the basketball world were anticipating the new (or old) destinations for marquee free agents such as Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward, the Detroit Pistons made their first splash of free agency by signing former Sacramento Kings guard, Langston Galloway, to a 21 million dollar deal for three years.
Fans voicing their opinion on Pistons Twitter were generally less than enthused. Galloway was a relatively unknown player playing on a relatively forgettable team.
However with the Detroit Pistons currently standing at 10-3 on the season, good for 2nd in the Eastern Conference, Langston Galloway has played a vital role in the Pistons’ early success.
Following the signing this summer, it was pretty unclear as to what role Galloway would play on this team. Waiving Beno Udrih opened up a spot as the third-string point guard, but would Galloway necessarily fill that role?
Galloway split his time evenly at the point guard position in Sacramento, but $7 million per year is a steep price to pay for a guy that will only be used emergency situations and garbage time so he would need to see the floor in other capacities.
Galloway ended up stepping into the de facto backup shooting guard role, splitting time with Luke Kennard. During his time on the floor, Galloway has been a stud offensively. Per Synergy, Galloway ranks in the 99th(!) percentile in overall offense.
Galloway has made most of his money spot-up shooting. Playing with a point guard who collapses the defense into the paint and kicks out to open shooters, like Ish Smith, gives Galloway plenty of open looks and he’s converting them at a very respectable rate. Galloway is scoring an average of 1.18 points per possession on spot-up opportunities, which is good for the 77th percentile in the league.
Many of Galloway’s spot-up opportunities also come in transition. When the Pistons create a turnover or hustle off of a miss, Galloway is quick to run down the floor and nail a spot-up three off of a quick Ish Smith pass. Galloway ranks in the 88th percentile in transition scoring in the NBA.
Going forward, Galloway will likely be used to keep Luke Kennard’s seat warm as backup shooting guard, but is really earning his minutes at the moment. In addition to being deadly offensively, he has been a plus defender. Defense is critical for the Pistons’ success and if Galloway’s strong play continues, the sky is the limit for the Pistons.