The Detroit Pistons have gotten out to a 3-2 start despite a bumpy offense, but there are some easy fixes that don’t require them to look for a big trade.
The Pistons are currently 7th in defensive efficiency and lead the league in blocked shots per game, so the defense has been keeping them afloat, which was expected. The Pistons thrive off stops and getting out in transition, but at some point, the offense has to catch up.
Detroit is 25th in offensive efficiency, 27th in field goal percentage and 20th in 3-point percentage, so the easy answer is that they need to make a move for more shooting.
There may be one out there if Malik Beasley’s situation ever gets resolved, but the Pistons also have internal options in Caris LeVert, Marcus Sasser and eventually Jaden Ivey who should provide some of the buckets they are lacking.
But for now, the Pistons just have to make more of the shots they are getting, especially around the rim.
The Detroit Pistons missing a lot of easy ones
It’s still very early in the season, and we know Cade Cunningham isn’t going to shoot 39 percent all year. We know Jalen Duren is going to shoot way better than 57 percent, which is well below his career average. Tobias Harris is shooting 42 percent and Duncan Robinson below 40, so the starting lineup just needs to be more efficient and make shots they normally do.
Some of these issues will be ironed out by these players returning to their norms. The Pistons are 27th in the NBA in 2-point percentage, down nearly five percentage points from last season.
They’ve missed a shocking number of shots at the rim, including a ton of wide-open layups. Javonte Green immediately springs to mind as a guy who has missed 3-4 bunnies, as he is shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range but just 26 percent from inside the arc.
The Pistons have made just 52.9 percent of their shots under five feet, which is worst in the NBA, so a lot of this just comes down to making a layup.
It’s so early in the season that a few of those missed layups are the difference between where the Pistons are and where they need to be in terms of field goal percentage. The offense has been predictably clunky with some new faces and plenty of injuries to start the season, so there is no reason to panic about a slow start.
This will be far more a concern if these numbers don’t tick back to the norms soon or when the Pistons replace Javonte Green’s minutes with someone who is a better offensive player, and they will when LeVert and Sasser are back to full strength.
The obvious answer to the Pistons’ problems is to make more shots as stupid as that sounds, but right now Detroit needs to focus on making more than 49.5 percent of their two-point shots.