The Detroit Pistons lost their leading scorer Jerami Grant with torn ligaments in his thumb and the aftermath has been both good and bad.
The Pistons still haven’t won a game in over a month, including the three Grant has missed.
With trade rumors about Grant floating around, this stretch will give us a glimpse of what life might look like without Jerami Grant.
So far it has been a mixed bag in the three games the Detroit Pistons have lost without Jerami Grant, as they have improved in some areas and gotten far worse in others.
Before we get into the negatives, let’s look at some of the things that have actually improved in the last three games.
The Detroit Pistons’ offense has been better without Jerami Grant
Some people thought that the Pistons’ offense might actually improve without Jerami Grant in the depth chart and so far it has.
The Pistons average just over 100 points per game for the season but have bumped that up to 108 since Grant has been out of the lineup.
They are shooting a higher percentage overall, going from 41.4 percent from the field with Grant to 45.9 percent without him.
The free throw attempt rate has stayed exactly the same, which is something I did not expect, as Grant is one of the league-leaders in free-throw attempts.
One interesting number is that the Pistons 3-point attempt rate has actually gone down, dropping from 41 percent to 36.8, so they aren’t firing as many 3-pointers, which probably accounts for the upswing in FG percentage overall.
It’s not just that the Detroit Pistons are scoring more points, but it is how they are doing it which should turn some heads.
The Detroit Pistons are playing much faster without Jerami Grant
I know it is a small sample size, but the Pistons have been playing noticeably faster without Jerami Grant in the lineup.
The pace is better, they are getting more shots and getting out in transition far more than they do with Grant and finally getting some easy buckets to offset their terrible 3-point shooting.
The Pistons have been showing some full court press, clearly trying to speed up the game, and it has worked in short bursts for them in the last two games even though they still lost.
The number that really stands out to me is fast break points for the Detroit Pistons.
With Grant, the Pistons average a paltry 10.8 fast break points per game, near the bottom of the league.
Without him, Detroit has gotten 18.7 fast break points per game, a number that would easily lead the NBA.
Jerami Grant does tend to be a ball stopper who dribbles too much and does his work in isolation. Since he’s been out, the ball has moved more, the Pistons have run more and it has paid off, as they are scoring more points and showing that this is how they should be playing all of the time.
Detroit is averaging three more assists per game with Grant out of the lineup and the offense has just been a lot faster and more fun to watch in general.
But not everything has been positive.
The Detroit Pistons’ defense has been horrible without Jerami Grant
While the Pistons are playing a faster, more exciting style of offense without their leading scorer, the defense has plummeted in the three games he has missed.
The Pistons give up 110 points per game on average for the season, but in the three games Grant has missed they’ve let up 118 and looked awful.
The Pistons have basically been playing “Ole!” defense, just letting the other team blow by them and putting up no resistance at the rim.
This has shown Grant’s value on that end, as he can cover some of the faults of their young players and provide some amount of shot blocking off the ball, which they are missing dearly without him.
Some have wondered how Killian Hayes has continued to get minutes when he doesn’t score much and your answer is that he is one of the few guys who has played well defensively over the last three games.
It’s been more fun to watch the Detroit Pistons on offense, as they have played faster and gotten better shots without Grant, but the defense has offset any gains they’ve made on the other end.