The Detroit Pistons lost a frustrating game against the Houston Rockets on a night when both teams shot poorly from long range.
It’s a common theme for the Pistons, who are not a good 3-point shooting team and are often giving up big points in that category that they make up in other areas.
I’m not going to rant and rave about needing another shooter or a secondary scoring option, as the trade deadline is approaching and I am certain Trajan Langdon will address these issues on some level.
I’m not going to huff and puff after one loss against a good team on a night when Cade Cunningham was obviously still struggling with his wrist. He’s shot the ball terribly since the recent injury that cost him a couple of games, but the Pistons were still in this game right until the end. On a side note, they may have to sit Cade for a few games to get this right, as he is clearly struggling to shoot the ball.
It’s no time to panic, but the Rockets did give the rest of the league a clear blueprint for how to beat the Pistons, one that Detroit will have to figure out before the playoff starts.
Making plays out of the short roll was a challenge for the Pistons
Yes, the Pistons could certainly use another 3-point shooter, as they struggle mightily on the nights when Duncan Robinson isn’t knocking them down, which he wasn’t last night.
The Pistons stayed in the game the same way they have all season, by playing stout defense, creating turnovers and transition opportunities and dominating in the paint.
But they were flat-out awful in the half court and didn’t adjust to what the Rockets were doing. Houston put a non-center on Duren, forcing Ausar Thompson to be the screener in the half court, usually after throwing a trap at Cade.
Time and time again, the Pistons got the ball in the middle of the court on the short roll with space to operate and were not able to process fast enough to take advantage. Thompson was more aggressive in the second half and had some nice takes and also drew a few fouls at the rim, but the Pistons were unable to consistently take advantage of what Houston was giving them.
This is going to be the strategy in the playoffs: Force the Pistons out of the Cade/Duren PnR and make one of their other wings beat you with mid-range jumpers or takes to the rim, where there will be an army of defenders waiting (this is where more shooting would help).
JB Bickerstaff will have to adjust to this, as the Pistons are going to see this kind of defense more frequently this season as teams try to stop Cade and Duren from working together.
This is why capable ball handing, passing and decision making are almost more important than 3-point shooting for the Pistons at the trade deadline, as they need someone who can make these reads and exploit defenses in the middle of the court.