The Detroit Pistons haven’t quite had the dream offseason that fans were hoping for, but they have improved in one key area.
Detroit was dead last in team shooting this past season, hitting just 45 percent of their field goals overall, worst in the NBA.
They’ve been in the bottom two in team field goal percentage over the last two seasons and haven’t been in the top half of the league since the 2012-13 season, when they were 14th and were actually worse (44.9 percent) than they were this season.
It’s been a brutal era of bricks for the Pistons, one that they hope is finally going to end next season. Even though they are still a young team, there is reason to believe that their overall shooting will be much better soon.
The Detroit Pistons’ shooting
There are some things going in Detroit’s favor when it comes to their quest to finally not be the worst shooting team in the NBA.
They have added two veterans in Monte Morris and Joe Harris who are both very good 3-point shooters. People are underestimating how much Morris is going to help this team as a steady backup who doesn’t turn the ball over and can knock down shots. Morris replacing Killian Hayes (the NBA’s worst shooter last season) will be a big boost.
Harris isn’t likely to get a ton of minutes or shots, but he’ll knock down around 45 percent of the 3-pointers he does take, as he has for his entire career.
Marcus Sasser can shoot the 3-ball, and we should see leaps in that area from both Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, so Detroit has a chance to make a big leap in 3-point shooting. They were 21st in the NBA in percentage last season, and that should go up.
They should also be better inside of the arc, as they will get more easy shots with Cade Cunningham back running the show.
Ausar Thompson isn’t likely to pad their 3-point totals much, but he’ll shoot a high percentage at the rim, and his defense will lead to more easy buckets on run outs and fast breaks. The Pistons were 27th in fast break points last season, mostly because their defense was so bad, but Thompson alone should help add to that number.
Duren should get a few more dunks, Cade should be more efficient overall, and Jaden Ivey should get a lot more easy looks with Cade back and Thompson being disruptive and leading fast breaks.
It’s not likely that the Detroit Pistons suddenly become one of the best shooting teams in the NBA, but they should make some big strides both inside and outside the arc.