The Detroit Pistons made the splashy hire of Monty Williams in order to take their young roster to the next level and pivot towards being competitive.
The Pistons were equally bad on both sides of the ball this past season, so Monty Williams is going to have his work cut out for him.
We talked about some of the ways Williams could help the Pistons’ offense, but the defensive side of the ball is just as important, if not more. Detroit was near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency, opponent’s points allowed and defensive rebounds per game, which didn’t help an offense that often struggled to get good looks in the half court.
Better defense leads to better offense, and Monty Williams has a history of improving teams on both ends.
Detroit Pistons: How Monty Williams will fix the defense
The Numbers
Monty Williams took over a Suns team in 2019 that was fresh off a 19-win season and was 29th in defensive efficiency. That’s not far off the Detroit Pistons, who managed just 17 wins this season and ranked 27th in defensive efficiency.
Williams quickly turned things around in Phoenix, getting the Suns up to 16th in his first season. That type of progress would be great for the Pistons, who will need improvement from their young core as well as additions from the outside.
In 2020-21, the Suns were up to 7th in defensive efficiency and 5th the year after that in which they made the NBA Finals. They dropped to 10th this season but Williams had the Suns as a top-10 defense in all but one season in Phoenix.
Williams isn’t finished filling out his staff, but after hiring offensive-minded Stephen Silas, he could look for an assistant who has a focus on defense.
Can he have similar success in Detroit? If so, here’s how he will do it.
Detroit Pistons: How Monty Williams will fix the defense
The Philosophy
Williams talked a lot about keeping things simple in Phoenix when he took over a young team. He’ll likely take a similar approach in Detroit, and the foundation of his defense includes areas where the Pistons must improve.
Here’s a brief description according to NBA.com:
"“Williams installed a few basic principles when he arrived: know the gameplan, don’t foul, grab rebounds, protect the paint. Keeping things simple was practical for a young team, but it also speaks to the coaching staff’s overall philosophy on offense… By the end of Williams’ first season, the Suns identified their defensive core: Mikal Bridges on the perimeter and Deandre Ayton inside. From there, it was a matter of building habits and developing additional schemes and adjustments to their defensive repertoire.”"
Of course there is a lot more when it comes to specific X’s and O’s, but the foundation of Williams’ gameplan are areas of weakness for the Pistons:
- Fouls: 29th in the NBA
- Defensive rebounds per game: 25th in the NBA
- Opponent’s points in the paint: 28th in the NBA
The Detroit Pistons fouled too much, didn’t close out possessions with defensive rebounds and allowed 54 points in the paint per game, a nine point difference from the league-leading New York Knicks.
Williams needs to get the most out of the big men, who were actually decent on the offensive glass (10th overall in the NBA) but were not as effective on the defensive end, something Coach Williams will emphasize.
It’s not as if Dwane Casey didn’t coach these things, but Williams will have more leeway to bench guys who aren’t cutting it defensively now that the Pistons are out of tank mode and hopefully finished trying out busts.
But this isn’t all on the bigs, as the Pistons’ perimeter defense was terrible and was the big reason for a lot of those points in the paint. Williams will have to get the most defensively from Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, as well as improvements from the young big men.
The second part will be identifying the defensive core as he did in Phoenix with Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton. Jalen Duren is the obvious choice for the big-man role, but the Pistons currently lack a lockdown defender like Bridges on the wing. Ivey and Cunningham both have potential, but there will also have to be more talent added in that area.
Williams has a track record in areas where the Detroit Pistons need to improve on defense, so his basic philosophy should be beneficial. But the Pistons will need more than internal improvement to turn things around.
Detroit Pistons: How Monty Williams will fix the defense
Free Agents
Detroit has cap space to use, so can make an impact addition in free agency. The team’s most glaring need is on the wing, where their defense was atrocious this past season. Adding a defensive stopper at forward will be a priority.
Hiring coach Monty Williams should signal to free agents that the Pistons are getting serious, which could make them more attractive to veterans who want to be on winning teams.
Williams also has a lot of connections to players he has coached in the past, some of whom had their best seasons with him in the huddle. He may be a deciding factor to a veteran wing defender or two who are looking for teams where they can have a role and thrive (I’m looking at you Torrey Craig and Jevon Carter!).
The point is that Williams should get a roster that is much-better equipped defensively, so he won’t have to rely entirely on young players and their development to get the Pistons into the middle of the pack or better next season.
Things are going to change soon in Detroit, who just got the perfect coach to take them to the next level on defense, and should get some additions from the outside that will help.
If Detroit can make strides on the defensive end, they could make a similar leap as the Suns did when Monty Williams took over, which is the exact type of progress fans are hoping for.