How Bol Bol can find success with the Detroit Pistons

Bol Bol can be a stretch big for the Detroit Pistons

It is no secret that the Detroit Pistons can’t shoot and that their offense often has spacing issues because of it.

When Kelly Olynyk went down with injury, they lost the only big guy they have who can truly stretch the floor, as none of their other bigs have shot it consistently from there, though that doesn’t stop Trey Lyles from chucking them anyway.

Bol’s strengths as an offensive player are running the floor and finishing and having the ability to hit shots from long range.

He’s hit 37.8 percent of his 3-point shots in limited attempts in actual games and a similar percentage in those scrimmages, so this is guy who can make them.

He has a smooth shot and you won’t find many NBA players who are going to block or even affect it.

We know he can shoot, but the question is can he do the things he needs to do to get those shots? One thing I noticed about Bol is that he is disengaged when he is not directly involved in the action, often floating to the corners and just standing there watching.

Hopefully, the Pistons can get him involved in some pick-and-roll action, though Bol has never shown himself to be much of a screen setter.

Even if he’s not in the PnR, he can’t just be a stationary object or bystander on offense, he needs to move without the ball and let the Pistons’ guards find him when he’s open.

He can also create space for himself by being more of a cutter, looking for ways to get closer to the rim and not just standing around outside of the 3-point line.

If Bol Bol can play to his strengths, stay engaged (especially on defense) and cut down the mistakes, he can definitely make an impact for the Detroit Pistons, but it’s a lot to ask of a guy who has played very little and never shown that he’s anything more than a novelty in meaningless games.