Isaiah Stewart needs to play on both ends for the Detroit Pistons

After an All-Rookie Second Team selection last season that was unexpected going into the season, the Detroit Pistons looked like they found a diamond in the rough with forward/center Isaiah Stewart. Early success has been followed by a lackluster second season, and it’s becoming painfully clear that the fan-favorite needs to take drastic strides to find success in the NBA.

Stewart is yet to make any sort of offensive leap this season, scoring only seven points per game compared to 7.9 last year. His shooting has also taken a significant dip in every major category. Fortunately, his defense and overall rebounding have improved or remained where they were last year, which means he does not need to focus on improvement as he is already one of the league’s better-undersized defenders.

As a starting center, he cannot continue to score this abysmally, and he can’t keep riding the high of his recent antics (activities? Fight? Pick a noun). On the offensive side of the ball, he just needs to be better.

Isaiah Stewart needs to change his game for the Detroit Pistons

Luckily for Isaiah Stewart, immediate improvement is not that difficult, at least for him. This season, he is shooting 58/112 on only six shots a game. In the restricted area and low paint, he is shooting 55%, and the league average is 58%.

His percentage is not that bad, so he could easily just shoot more down low, which is where he already takes the majority of his shots. The only issue is, down low he has to battle with players five inches taller than him, so getting over them in their domain seems to be tricky. He is the Pistons’ leading rebounder with 131 boards in 18 games, which places him 52nd in the league.

Keep in mind, the Detroit Pistons are 28th in total rebounds. Based on his ability to lead Detroit down low, it would stand to reason he could take more shots down low as he can compete with bigger players, but I think he should move out.

On two-point shots outside of the paint, he is shooting 75%. Granted, that’s on only four attempts. It would not be out of the realm of possibility for Stewart to play in the midrange or the high post. He can knock down shots from there and still work his way down low to chase the many misses his team puts up. The sample size is very small, but the numbers suggest he could be a decent scorer from midrange. He also has good handles for a big man, so if his defender got too close he could blow by them for a dunk.

If Stewart fails to shoot more from areas that make sense, or fails to shoot more in general, he could be lost like Willie Cauley-Stein, Marquese Chriss, or Dennis Smith Jr. All of these players were second-team All-Rookie, but failed to adapt to their role in the NBA and fizzled out or ride the benches. Stewart is a defensive weapon. Everyone in the league knows that by now, but he is not a complete two-way player and without contributing on offense, he may not have a long future in the league.