The Detroit Pistons open the 2026-27 season at home against the Boston Celtics in an early 3PM ET tip off.
Both teams had somewhat surprising offseasons, as the Celtics jettisoned Jaylen Brown for Paul George, and the Pistons tweaked their roster rather than making a big addition.
The loss of Brown likely won’t change the Celtics overall offensive strategy much, as they launched a ton of 3-point shots last season and will again in this one. Boston has been one of the pioneers of high-volume 3-point shooting and ended 3rd in the league in both attempts and makes last season.
The Pistons were on the other end of the spectrum, and while we won’t see a completely revamped offense, Boston may recognize some of their own strategy in the Pistons tonight.
Keeping defenses honest with the 3-point shot
I hate playing the Celtics, mostly because no lead ever seems safe with them because of their ability to hit 3-point shots in bunches.
The Pistons were 29th in the NBA in 3-point attempts and makes last season, averaging 12.5 fewer attempts per game than the Celtics. The strategy worked for the Pistons in the regular season, as they dominated points in the paint, but they hit a wall in the playoffs when the offense stagnated, and they had no answer.
I doubt we’ll see the Pistons take 42+ attempts from long range this season like the Celtics did last year, but there are already signs Detroit will shoot more of them.
The Pistons averaged over 35 3-point attempts in their four preseason games, which would be five more per game than they took last season. It would still rank them in the bottom half of the league in attempts, but it’s closer to what we need to see.
The Pistons don’t have to abandon their style completely, but taking more 3-point shots will help open up the things they do well and make life easier for Cade Cunningham.
John Collins, Isaiah Joe and Taurean Prince averaged over 14 attempts from 3-point range per game last season, so these additions should help get the Pistons’ volume closer to where it needs to be to have a balanced offense.
Last year these two teams were polar opposites offensively, but the changes the Pistons made this offseason should find them a middle ground between Boston's’ style and their own.
The Pistons get their first chance to show the rest of the Eastern Conference that last year wasn’t a fluke and they are still the team to beat, but hopefully they’ll do it with a little more versatility and by using Boston’s top offensive weapon against them.
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