Detroit Pistons: Best and worst-case scenarios for Isaiah Stewart

Detroit Pistons: Worst-case scenario for Isaiah Stewart

I think the Detroit Pistons can count on Stewart bringing effort and energy every night and that his defense and rebounding will improve this season.

By all accounts he is a hard worker who is not going to slack on that end.

That’s why I think the worst-case scenario is that Beef Stew falls in love with the 3-point shot, and shoots too many of them at the expense of other parts of his game.

It’s nice to have a center who can shoot, but not if he is living at the 3-point line, as Stewart is too valuable as an offensive rebounder. He needs to show he can hit shots so that teams don’t just leave him alone, but he doesn’t want to get carried away.

The worst-case scenario is that Stewart spends the season experimenting with his 3-point shot instead of just letting it come in the natural flow of the game. If he’s not making them at a decent clip, he could start to lose confidence and the aggression that makes him who he is.

I don’t think Dwane Casey will allow this to happen, as he is going to preach defense first with all of his guys, but modern players can get obsessed with shooting, so it will be a tricky balance between wanting growth from Stewart but not getting it at the expense of what he is already very good at.

I don’t foresee a “sophomore slump” for either Stewart or Saddiq Bey, and look forward to watching the two of them progress and continue to outplay their respective draft position.