Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham and Jerami Grant are a perfect duo

Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham will draw pressure off Jerami Grant

For as great a scoring season Grant had for the Pistons last season, the biggest knock on the 27-year-old was that he did not do it efficiently. While Grant was the team’s leading scorer, the power forward shot 42.9 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc.

Grant’s field goal percentage was at its lowest since his sophomore season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015-16, and his three-point percentage was at its lowest since 2017-18 when he was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Lower efficiency was to be expected from Grant last season. The 6-8 power forward was the primary scorer for an NBA team for the first time in his career. Grant’s previous season-high for points per game came three seasons ago when he scored 13.6 points per contest.

Taking on a higher scoring load impacted how efficient Grant was able to be last season. Additionally, the Pistons’ lack of a true secondary scoring threat allowed opposing teams to key in on the 27-year-old when the Pistons ran their half-court offense.

The addition of Cunningham to the Pistons’ roster will benefit Grant immensely. Cunningham’s ability to create his own shot and efficiently shoot from beyond the arc will open up more opportunities for Grant on the offensive end.

While it is unclear whether Grant or Cunningham would be the primary scoring option for the Pistons, both would be able to draw the defense away from the other. Opponents will no longer be able to key in on Grant every trip down the court as Cunningham will present just as viable a scoring threat as the veteran power forward.

Grant will have more open looks and better scoring opportunities with less pressure from the defense than he had as the only major scoring option last season. Having more open looks at the basket will help improve Grant’s efficiency from the floor next year. Last season is a perfect example of how having a secondary scoring option can greatly impact Grant’s scoring efficiency.

With Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin garnering at least some attention from the defense during their few games with Detroit last season, Grant was considerably more efficient shooting the basketball than he was after they left. After the 23rd game of their season, the Pistons traded Rose to the New York Knicks, and after their 26th, the team sidelined Griffin as they looked to trade him.

Through the team’s first 23 games of the 2020-21 season, Grant shot 44.7 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. After the departure of both Rose and Griffin, the 27-yer-old’s efficiency plummeted. In his 28 games following the departure of both former All-Stars, Grant shot 41.9 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point range.

With the presumptive addition of Cunningham, Grant will likely see his efficiency rise closer to that of his first 23 games with Detroit. A second scoring option will create more open looks for Grant, especially from beyond the three-point line. The presence of both players on the court will prevent defenses from keying in on one or the other.