Detroit Pistons: How to beat Jerami Grant and the Trail Blazers

Keys in Detroit Pistons vs. Portland Trail Blazers

2. Ball-Movement

Without Cade Cunningham, Detroit’s offense has sputtered at points, filled with a lack of off-ball movement, questionable shot selection, and selfish basketball. Even with capable creators such as Bojan Bogdanovic and Jaden Ivey, the Pistons’ offense has gone stagnant far too many times this season. Detroit is near the bottom in passes made per game this season, sitting at 27th, along with being 26th in assists per game, and dead last in secondary assists per game.

Their struggles have continued on the fast break as well. Detroit is currently averaging 10.6 fast break points per game, ranking 29th in the NBA in this category. With Killian Hayes serving the third game of his three game suspension, Jaden Ivey will certainly be tasked with more of the playmaking responsibilities. The 6-foot-4 guard is more than capable of facilitating an offense in the fastbreak, where he thrives in the open floor. In a half court setting, Detroit could look to continue prioritizing pick and rolls, where they’re currently ranked in the top five in points per game out of the P&R.

With their primary facilitator still out, Detroit will have to continue to operate without a true floor general, but could see an influx in spacing with Saddiq Bey likely staying in the lineup, where he provides perimeter shooting. Regardless, it’ll be imperative for the Pistons to continue to spread the ball on offense and rely more on one another, rather than playing individual basketball for prolonged spurts.