There was nothing complicated about the Detroit Pistons last season, as their plan was to show up and punch you in the mouth.
The Pistons dominated the paint last season on both ends, finishing 2nd in points in the paint scored per game and 4th in points in the paint allowed to their opponents.
This 13-point differential was enough to offset the Pistons’ almost complete lack of 3-point shooting, a strategy that worked well, at least in the regular season.
But it caught up to them in the playoffs, when just trying to overwhelm Orlando and Cleveland with force wasn’t working nearly as well and turned out to be exceedingly easy to defend.
The Pistons may not be as dominant in the paint next season, but the changes they have made should give them more than one way to win, which is a tool they didn’t have in their box last year.
The Pistons should be able to win in a number of ways
Last year was all about smashmouth basketball as the Pistons zigged into physicality while everyone else zagged towards shooting.
Assuming the Pistons sign Jalen Duren (which is not a 100 percent given at this point), they should still be able to overwhelm teams with physicality at times.
With Duren, Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, the Pistons have some of the best athletes in the league, so it’s not like they are suddenly going to start playing soft overnight.
But the Pistons now have some weapons they didn’t have last season, which is the ability to go small, put loads of shooting on the floor and play with five-out spacing, something they haven’t been able to much of in Cade Cunningham’s career.
We’ve not yet seen what Cade can do with five-out spacing, which is something I am excited to see next season with the additions of Isaiah Joe and John Collins.
Detroit is also better equipped to put balanced lineups on the floor with two shooters and two defenders around Cunningham, something JB Bickerstaff struggled with last season, with his role players tilted towards defense.
The Pistons now have more than one player who can get hot from long range and change a game, so they’ve kept enough of their identity but augmented it with more shooting, an area of weakness from last season.
The Pistons are still going to play Detroit basketball, but they finally have more than one way to win. They may not hit 60 wins again in an improved Eastern Conference, but they are far more playoff-proof than they were last season.
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