Pistons just revealed unorthodox blueprint for a Finals run

The Detroit Pistons shot just 4-of-30 from 3-point range against the Orlando Magic, but still easily won the game, showing that 3-point shooting isn’t everything as some fans and pundits would have you believe. 

Beating Orlando handily on the road while shooting that poorly is a pretty good sign that the Pistons can beat most of the teams in the Eastern Conference even if their shots aren’t falling. 

But when it comes to the playoffs, there are questions about whether that style can work, especially when we look at the last five NBA champions. Of that group, only the Denver Nuggets finished outside the top 10 in 3-point makes per game. 

They were 18th in the NBA that season, but the caveat was that they were 4th in percentage, so they were making the ones they took and had shooters that other teams had to respect. 

The Pistons aren’t even close to that, as they are 28th in the league in 3-point makes per game and 26th in percentage, so if they make a run to the Finals, they’ll be doing it in a different way than most of the recent champs. 

The question is whether it can work. 

The Pistons want to prove the dunk is more powerful than the 3-pointer 

The Pistons may be near the bottom of the league in long-range shooting, but no one is better than them close to the rim. 

The Pistons lead the NBA in points in the paint per game and for the second straight season, are tops in dunks. 

The thing about dunks is that they don’t require a hot hand, or a lucky bounce, and teams don’t go ice-cold from dunking range. 

That’s not true of the 3-point shot, so the Pistons have to hope they can limit other teams 3-point shooting in the playoffs and then just keep doing their thing in the lane.  

Long-range shooting tends to come and go in streaks and can betray teams who rely on them too heavily. That certainly doesn’t apply to Detroit, who has shown they can win even when the 3’s aren’t there. 

Detroit has also been very good at stopping them this season, as they are 4th in the league in opponents’ 3-point percentage and 9th when it comes to opponents’ points from 3-point range. Considering they are near the top of the league in points in the paint allowed, the Pistons are making it tough on opponents from all over the floor. 

Fans are understandably worried whether the Pistons’ offense can keep up once the games slow down, but not relying on the 3-point shot may actually work in their advantage, as they can still pound the ball in the lane and don’t have to count on the 3-pointers, which almost seem bonus points right now.

Of course, that can work the other way if some other team gets hot from deep, but Detroit has done a great job of mitigating that, and their defense should be even more imposing in the playoffs, when refs tend to let things get more physical. 

Detroit is an unorthodox team for the modern age, one that is more of a throwback, so it will be interesting to see if that style can be successful in the playoffs.