As the Detroit Pistons conclude a three game road trip in Philadelphia against the Sixers tonight, there are three things that require immediate attention in Philly and upon their return home, to hopefully put an end to the opening season skid.
Detroit Pistons: Improvements we need to see vs. the 76ers
Ball Movement
Three straight losses, dreadful shooting, and far too many stagnant offensive sequences have been a theme to start the season.
Through their first three games, the Detroit Pistons are second to last in the NBA in assists and assist ratio, and dead last in points per game.
This should greatly improve with the return of Jerami Grant, and Cade Cunningham, but there still has to be more continuity to ensure easier looks and open shots.
Moving the ball more should lead to an increase in three-pointers, overall touches, and open driving lanes for rim runners, wings, and the point guard. This also initiates off-ball movement, which can lead to points off back cuts, and kick outs from drawing in collapsing defenses.
While the Detroit Pistons have been able to get to the rim, providing more ball movement can only open the paint up even more, leaving more room for points and fouls to draw.
Turnovers
While turnovers are expected for a relatively young team, the lack of assists and spacing throughout the first three games have only magnified what will most likely be a recurring issue.
As of now, the Pistons hold an average of 15.7 turnovers a game, ranking 27th in the NBA. However, the turnovers haven’t coincided with a rapid fire pace, or a ton of passes in the half court setting.
In addition, turnovers in short spurts have already posed issues. Like last year, the mistakes are sure to be high, but limiting their occurrences in short spurts can go a long way, and stop opposing leads from building quickly.
Three-Point Shooting
This may be the most obvious on the list and the soonest thing to be addressed. On the season, the Detroit Pistons are shooting a dreadful 22.5 percent from behind the arc, good for last in the NBA.
However, they’re also second to last in attempts.
An ice cold start to the season is bound to stop soon, but simply shooting more threes is a necessity to accelerate the ending.
Ball movement is a related issue with this, and once it picks up, expect to see easier looks, more attempts, and therefore, more makes.
Olynyk, Bey, and Grant are all respectable three point shooters, and Cunningham should soon join this list. In their last game against Atlanta, Killian Hayes also hit two threes. Aggressiveness from behind the arc, along with Grant’s return should help with connecting more from downtown.
It’s been an ugly offensive start for the Detroit Pistons and some things are going to have to change if they want to get their first win of the season.