Much has been made about the Detroit Pistons’ poor shooting of late, but the defense has also come under scrutiny after the Pistons had some lapses against the Cavaliers in a recent loss.
I also saw a somewhat misleading stat going around that drew in some Pistons fans, which is that Detroit only has the 10-best defensive rating since the All-Star break.
Even more alarming, is that some of their potential opponents (namely the Knicks, Celtics, Spurs and Thunder) have been lights out defensively in that time.
The Pistons live and die by their defense, so any slide would be concerning, but this isn’t a slide when you consider the actual numbers and the context.
The Pistons are doing what they’ve been doing all season
It should first be said that there have only been seven games since the All-Star break, so this isn’t much of a sample size. Six of the seven were against playoff teams, and the Pistons played the Knicks, Spurs, Thunder and Cavs (x2), some of the best offenses in the league.
They still held their own, as the Pistons had a 108 defensive rating in that stretch, which is exactly what it is for the season as a whole. It’s easy to get wound up about a stat presented like this, but it’s seven games, and the Pistons are right on par for what they’ve been doing all season.
There isn’t anything alarming here when you consider the competition. At worst, the Pistons will emerge from the toughest 11-game stretch of their schedule with an 8-3 record, and then it will start to lighten up.
The Pistons are still just behind OKC for the best defensive rating in the league, so this “slide” is about as nothing as nothing can get, especially when you consider the entire thing happened while Isaiah Stewart was out.
Poor offense will affect the Pistons’ defense
The more concerning number is that the Pistons are shooting just 29 percent from 3-point range in those seven games, which does directly affect the defense. With fewer shots going in, there are fewer chances to set the defense when the other team has to take the ball out of the net.
A lot of those bricked 3’s also lead to long rebounds and run outs, so the Pistons aren’t doing their defense any favors right now with their shooting. If some of these shots start falling, the defense will be even tighter.
It will be interesting to see how the defense responds tonight, as the Pistons did look to have tired legs at the end of the Cavs game and have a monumental task in front of them in Wembanyama and the Spurs.