Isaiah Stewart’s late-season confidence is a good sign

The Detroit Pistons need more from starting center Isaiah Stewart next season and there are signs that they are going to get it.

Stewart averaged just 8.3 points this season, an improvement from his rookie year, but still not up to the standards of a starting NBA center.

Stewart is versatile and quality defender, but he’s not the type of elite defender who provides enough value to not score in double digits.  According to Statmuse, NBA centers averaged 10 points per game this season, and that’s across the entire league, not just starters.

While Stewart does a lot of things well and always gives the Detroit Pistons a boost of energy and toughness, he has to get better offensively if he is going to be their primary big.

Stewart doesn’t have to score 20 a game to be an impact player for the Pistons, but he has to get better as a shooter and in the pick-and-roll so that he’s not a negative on the offensive end.

Luckily there are signs that is going to happen.

Detroit Pistons: Isaiah Stewart finishing with confidence

Isaiah Stewart had a strong finish to the 2021-22 season and started looking more comfortable on both ends.

He was switching well on defense and tallied double-digit rebounds in nine of his last 14 games.

There was also a noticeable change on the offensive end, as Stewart started launching and making 3-point shots at a much higher rate.

Over his last 14 games, Stewart shot 52 percent from 3-point range on 1.5 attempts per game. Stewart is never going to be a high-volume 3-point shooter, but his confidence on the catch-and-shoot is clearly increasing and this should carry over to year three.

If Stewart can hit an above-average rate from above the arc, it will change his outlook as a starting center, or as a backup potentially playing with a dominant post player like Marvin Bagley III.

The Pistons are going to try and upgrade the center position, but if they strike out on a guy like Deandre Ayton, they could just add a player in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft, or grab a veteran defender in free agency.

Detroit will have a little more confidence going that route now that Stewart showed some progress offensively, but he will have to do it consistently over an entire season to keep his starting job long term.