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How the Detroit Pistons are addressing last season’s 3-point shooting woes

By David Borowicz

Detroit Pistons Luke Kennard. (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons Luke Kennard. (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 09: Derrick Rose #25 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket against the Washington Wizards during the game on March 9, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 09: Derrick Rose #25 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket against the Washington Wizards during the game on March 9, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Improved shooting from newly-acquired point guards

Last season Reggie Jackson shot a career-high 36.9 percent on a career-high 5.7 3-point attempts per game. This is an encouraging sign for the team as Jackson was forced to relinquish the majority of his ball handling duties to the Pistons point forward Blake Griffin, leaving Jackson as mainly a spot up shooter.

The issue was not with Jackson’s shooting at the point guard spot last season. A major drop in 3-point making ability occurred when the backup point guard Ish Smith stepped on the court.

While Smith was largely a plus on the court for the Pistons, one glaring hole in his game is his lack of accurate 3-point shooting. Smith, a career 30 percent 3-point shooter had a good year for himself shooting 32.6 percent from three on a career high 2.6 attempts per game. While Smith was a beloved member of the Pistons and will be missed, his backups should be able to fulfill his role to an increased level due to their superiority as shooters.

Related Story. The pros and cons of signing Derrick Rose. light

Derrick Rose, while historically not known as a 3-point shooter (30 percent on three’s for his career) made a concerted effort to improve upon that season and boy did he ever.

Rose shot a career-high 37 percent from three last season and a scorching hot 56.3 percent from three in the month of November. With Rose aware that he is no longer the supremely athletic MVP talent that he once was, he emphasized improving his 3-point shooting ability to remain effective at this later stage of his career.

If Rose can remain healthy he will be a fan favorite and a huge boost for the roster with his 3-point shooting being one of numerous ways he can help the Pistons out this upcoming season. If the infamous injury bug strikes Rose once again the Pistons will not be as vulnerable as they have been in previous years as they have acquired their best third-string point guard in recent memory.

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The Pistons signed Tim Frazier as an insurance policy that they hope they will not be needing to use very often at the point guard spot. Frazier is a career 32.9 percent 3-point shooter who shot a very high 38.4 percent from three last season on 2.6 attempts per game if you average out the time he spent between the Pelicans and Bucks last season (59 games played total).

With Casey’s style of offense both guys will get plenty of wide open opportunities from three during the 2019-20 season and we hope the trend for these two continues and they remain solid three point threats for the duration of their Pistons tenures.

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