Turnovers have been the Detroit Pistons bugaboo but the last five games provide evidence they may be turning a corner and Derrick Rose leads the charge.
The Detroit Pistons have gifted turnovers to opponents long before Giving Tuesday but one of the league’s most efficient offenses is becoming less charitable, and Derrick Rose is leading the turnaround.
One of the biggest flaws to the Pistons defensive woes is giving the ball away 335 times in 20 games to begin the season, the fourth-most in the league. But over the last five games the Pistons are turning it over 12.8 times per game, which would rank best in the league if they managed to maintain that pace through all 20 games.
Coach Dwane Casey has posed that the Pistons need time to gel together and maybe that was the case with Rose. In his first 10 games he had a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, giving it away at 3.3 times per contest. After missing five of six games to open November, Rose rested and it may have flipped a switch.
Over the last five games his assist-to-turnover ratio is up to 3.8 with 34 assists (6.8 per game) and nine turnovers (1.8 per game). Detroit is 2-3 in those five games and two of the losses were one-possession games.
The other loss was a 14-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, who are 17-3 and the Pistons only trailed by eight entering the fourth quarter while playing without Blake Griffin before an odd lineup resulted in a 12-point Bucks run.
Detroit is playing better. The Pistons have turned it over 15 times or fewer in the last five games, something they accomplished only three times in their first 15 games. In the loss at Charlotte, the Pistons matched their season-low with eight turnovers which they also had in a 117-100 loss to the Hawks on Oct. 24.
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Eliminating turnovers is going to make the Pistons offense that much better. Detroit is 10th in points per 100 possessions with 109.7. The Pistons are fifth in the league in shooting percentage, converting 47.2% from the field. They are second in 3-point percentage making 39.3% from the perimeter.
Limiting opponent’s possessions and securing more for their own offense will lead to more points for the Pistons. The shot spectrum Casey has installed is working.
The issue all season has been the turnovers, which has allowed opponents to score 110.2 points per 100 possessions, the 10th-worst in the league from Detroit’s perspective. Turnovers have led to 19.9 of those points per 100 possessions, which is second-worst in the NBA.
While four of those five games were against teams – Hornets (8-13), Magic (8-11) and Spurs (7-14) – with a losing record but the Pistons have been blown out in a handful of games and now they’re more competitive.