A positive statistic the Detroit Pistons need to build on

There wasn’t much positive to take away from the 2022-23 season for the Detroit Pistons other than the play of their two rookies.

They had myriad injuries, never got to see the full roster play together, and as a team, are near the bottom of nearly every statistical category.

In the two most important categories, points per game and opponent’s points per game, the Pistons are 29th and 27th in the NBA, respectively.

They have the worst shooting percentage in the league and are second-worst when it comes to the percentage of their opponents.

They are in the bottom half of the league in rebounding (even with 15 centers), 27th in assists and blocks and 20th in steals, pretty much what you would expect from a team that is on pace to win the fewest games in franchise history.

There isn’t much for the Detroit Pistons to build upon on either end, which is why it’s likely we are going to see some big changes to the roster in the offseason.

But there is one area in which the Detroit Pistons have been very good, and that is getting to the free-throw line, which is something they should be even better at in the future.

Detroit Pistons: Getting to the line

When you are the worst shooting team in the league, getting easy buckets is crucial. One way to do it is on fast breaks, but when your defense stinks, you don’t get many of those, which is why the Pistons were just 27th in the league in fast break points.

Another way is to get to the line, and the Pistons have done that, as they are 2nd in the NBA in free throw attempts per game, getting to the line 25.8 times on average. They are 4th overall in makes, which is not what you would expect from a team with only 16 wins.

Ten of the top 15 teams in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game are at least going to the play-in this season, so a lot of the top teams are getting to the line.

The intriguing thing is that the Pistons did this without Cade Cunningham for most of the season. He was only averaging 3.6 attempts per game, but I have to believe that number was going to increase if he had played a full season and started to get some more favorable calls.

His passing will also set up teammates around the rim that will lead to more fouls and free throws, so the Pistons could be one of the league’s top free-throw shooting teams again next season and possibly even improve on these numbers.

Bojan Bogdanovic and Jaden Ivey have done most of the damage, getting to the line a combined 10 times per game, but the Pistons have had 10 players average at least two free-throws per game, so they are getting contributions from all over the place.

The big catch is that they need to start making them at a higher clip, as they are just 21st in the league in free-throw percentage. This is especially true for Ivey, who has hit just 74 percent in his rookie season. Ivey plays an aggressive style that will draw whistles, so the free-throw line can be a huge weapon for him. In the three games this season that Jaden Ivey has had 30+ points, he was a combined 23-of-28 from the line for 82 percent, which is where he needs to be for the season.

The Detroit Pistons should also benefit from Jalen Duren and James Wiseman getting a few more whistles next season, so depending on who else they add, Detroit could very well lead the league in free-throw attempts.

Now they just have to start making them.