Killian Hayes has been much better for the Detroit Pistons since returning from injury.
He has looked more comfortable running the offense, is making some insane passes and has played smothering on-the-ball defense, racking up 1.6 steals per game since his return.
But he hasn’t shot the ball well at all, hitting just 33 percent of his shots overall and just 24 percent from the 3-point line.
A lot of rookies struggle shooting the ball as they adjust to the speed of the NBA game and the much-narrower window they have to get their shots off compared to college or other professional leagues.
My problem with Killian Hayes is not that he is missing shots, it’s that he’s not taking enough of them, which is holding back his offensive game.
Detroit Pistons: Lack of shots is leading to turnovers for Killian Hayes
Last night’s game was the perfect example of how Killan Hayes’ reluctance to shoot the ball is hurting his game.
He had three turnovers in the game overall, two of which came when he got into the lane and jumped before he knew what he was going to do with the ball.
He looked to pass instead of shoot and it caused these two turnovers. Hayes has shown the ability to get into the lane, using his size to bully smaller defenders or his quick change of pace to get by them.
The problem is that he rarely looks to score when he is in there, which is often leading to turnovers. He needs to look for his shot first and then pass as a second option once he beats his defender and gets into space in the lane.
He can hit that floater from the mid-range and in, and needs to shoot more of them to reduce these silly turnovers.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes’ lack of shooting is hurting his passing
Killian Hayes is a very good passer already but it makes it a lot more difficult to find open teammates when defenders know you don’t want to shoot the ball.
Defenses are just sagging off, daring him to shoot and then waiting for him to pass, which he almost always does.
I like that Hayes is unselfish and knows his role is to set up teammates, but this will be much easier if defenses have to collapse on his drives. Instead, they all just stay at home, which makes his penetration less effective at opening up shots for his teammates.
There is no reason to double team or collapse the defense if you are not worried the dribble penetrator is actually going to shoot.
Killian Hayes is a teenage point guard, so he’s obviously not close to a finished product. I would love him to be more aggressive looking for his shot, which should reduce his turnovers and open up more passing lanes for his dimes.