With Reggie Jackson‘s injury, the Pistons have a large hole to fill in their starting lineup. Although the inclination may be to promote Ish Smith to the first unit, Langston Galloway should take over as the starting point guard.
When the news of Reggie Jackson‘s extended absence came out, the immediate question arose as to who should take his spot in the starting lineup. And while there will certainly be discussion of trading for a replacement, the Detroit Pistons already have the answer on the roster in the form of Langston Galloway.
The natural replacement for Jackson is his backup, Ish Smith. Smith filled in at the beginning of last season when the Pistons’ starter recovered from injury, but the results were mixed. The offense was solid, producing 106.4 points per 100 possessions, but the defense struggled mightily, leading to a negative net rating. Smith’s limitations defensively were a constant and his lack of outside shooting lowered the possibilities for the Detroit offense.
Considering that Smith, as a starter, would be sharing the floor with another non-shooter in Andre Drummond, his shooting woes would be exacerbated for a large amount of minutes.
Having two non-perimeter shooters is not necessarily the end of the world.
In Detroit, it could be.
Drummond, the Pistons best player, needs a well-spaced offense in order to operate optimally within his role. Whether it be in his job as the roll man or as a terror on the offensive boards, spacing is critical to his offensive success.
With Galloway, those problems evaporate.
Detroit’s defense has been consistently terrific with Galloway. The Pistons have held opponents to just 92.3 points per 100 possessions with the combo guard on the floor, a number that is a full nine points better than any other Detroit rotation member. Galloway combines heady defense with an ability to stay in front of his counterparts which disrupts a lot of what opponents like to do. Being such a great team defender, it’s no surprise that the Pistons perform so admirably with him on the floor.
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In addition to Galloway’s positive defensive impact, he provides very real value for the team on the other end of the floor by virtue of his shooting. His hot shooting start has cooled off a bit, but his willingness to shoot helps Detroit’s spacing in a way that none of their other guards do.
The question then turns to whether Galloway is able to shoulder the ball handling duties of a full-time point guard.
He’s certainly not a traditional point guard, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Pistons’ starters.
After ranking 24th in the league in 2016-17 in passes per game, the Pistons rank seventh this year. The increased ball movement has been a huge contributor to Detroit’s improved offense and it’s imperative that it continues during Jackson’s absence.
There might be a tendency to think that Galloway’s lack of traditional point guard skills would hinder ball movement, but the reality is far different.
Detroit’s assist percentage has been at its best with the combo guard on the floor, to the tune of a 59.1 percent rate.
Galloway’s quick trigger and good shooting prowess certainly contributes to that good assist rate, but so does the versatility of sets that Detroit can run with him on the floor.
Against the Atlanta Hawks earlier this season, Detroit experimented a bit with Galloway at point guard, and the results were encouraging.
In the second quarter, Galloway showed that he can be a threat in the pick-and-roll scheme that Detroit loves so much.
The threat of Galloway’s outside shooting forced his defender to go over the screen while Tolliver’s defender had to stay home to cut off a potential driving lane. This led to an easy bounce pass to an open Tolliver, who nailed a three pointer.
The spacing on this play was ruined a little bit by Eric Moreland, but that’s an easy fix. This pick-and-pop set could become a mainstay in the starting lineup between Galloway and Tobias Harris. With both Harris and Galloway being huge threats to shoot and drive, the pick-and-roll between them could be extremely effective.
A few possessions prior to the Tolliver three, Detroit used a much different set, though the success was the same.
This particular play began as a HORNS set. At the point the video picks up, Galloway sets a screen for Reggie Bullock and uses that confusion to run to the perimeter, where a screen from Tolliver is awaiting him. Moreland gives him a solid chest pass and Galloway easily knocks down a wide open three.
This type of set is not something you typically see of the Pistons starters, but it could prove especially effective with the addition of Galloway running off screens. Avery Bradley could serve as a great replacement for Bullock in this play, and having Drummond instead of Moreland as the point center provides endless options for Detroit.
Apart from the increased number of sets that the Pistons can run with Galloway at the helm, his more limited ball handling ability also should promote better ball movement.
Without a ball dominant point guard, the rest of the starters will all see an increased number of touches. Being more involved in the offense, each starter will have no choice but to be more engaged offensively which should lead to better results across the board. Without one person to rely on to create offense, every starter will need to move both on and off the ball, resulting in a less predictable offense, something Detroit can definitely improve on.
Langston Galloway may not be the first thought as the Pistons look to replace Reggie Jackson, but his skill set would bring far more versatility to a Detroit starting lineup that will need it while they’re missing their star point guard.