Detroit Pistons: Check out Killian Hayes’ new shooting form

The biggest knock against Killian Hayes of the Detroit Pistons so far in his young career is that he has yet to develop a reliable shot.

Hayes shot just 35 percent from the field in his shortened rookie season and even worse from the 3-point line, knocking down 27.5 percent overall.

Hayes is a gifted passer and looks like he’ll be a plus defender, but he needs to develop a shot to keep defenses honest and not allow them to sag into the lane and wreck the Pistons’ spacing.

Guys like Kelly Olynyk will help, as he can work with Hayes in the pick-and-roll, where they will hopefully get each other better shots.

But ultimately, Hayes must shoot the ball more consistently, especially on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, which is why the Pistons have been tinkering with his shot form.

Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes is trying to widen his base

One of Hayes’ biggest problems last season was that he didn’t get his feet under him and completely set when taking shots.

This was especially true on step-back 3-pointers, which he relied on far too heavily last season.

A recent practice video has emerged that shows Hayes with a much wider base on his 3-point shot, which may be an effort to ensure those feet are set.

The shot looks awkward and I question how effective it will be in real games, as it seems to take a long time to get set and get the shot off, which won’t be easy with a defender in his face.

We also don’t know if this is something Killian Hayes is just trying out in practice, as we didn’t get to see him play much in the preseason.

For now his primary job is going to be running the offense, playing with pace and making plays in transition, but ultimately he needs to develop that shot to be effective off the ball when Cade Cunningham returns to the lineup.

His shot still doesn’t look great, but hopefully this new form will help him overcome some of the problems he had with this shot last season.