Duncan Robinson has gotten off to a red-hot start for the Detroit Pistons, and is currently their second-leading scorer, averaging just under 17 points per game.
He’s shooting more 3-point shots than last season and has knocked down 41.5 percent of them. It’s not just his scoring, as his movement and the chaos it creates has helped open up other parts of Detroit’s defense.
Even though he doesn’t dribble much, Robinson’s movement does act as a type of creation and does space the floor at times.
All of these are great things, and if Robinson plays like this all season, the Pistons will be ecstatic, but if Robinson is their go-to second option, the Pistons will be in huge trouble once the playoffs roll around.
Duncan Robinson is not a go-to bucket getter
With Tobias Harris in San Antonio, Robinson has stepped up his scoring and has been a huge part of the Pistons’ hot start.
I said early in the season that Robinson was far too important to this offense to trade (unless there is a star guard coming back who can also shoot) and that fans constantly putting him in the trade machine were likely to be disappointed.
But let’s be real here, Robinson is not a true second option and not really close, as his offense relies far too much on the players around him.
Robinson is not a guy you can throw the ball to, clear out and let him go to work, so in that regard, he has not replaced what Tobias Harris gave the Pistons even though he’s replacing the scoring numbers.
It’s also fair to say that the Pistons’ real second option is currently sitting on the bench in Jalen Duren, who Detroit is counting on to be a 20+ ppg scorer at some point this season.
Duren is still a work in progress as a scorer, so we are right back to the same question we had when this season started, which is whether the Pistons have enough offense when you get past Cade Cunningham.
The answer so far has been no, as Detroit’s offense has struggled to keep up with their elite defense, and their second-leading scorer is Duncan Robinson, a player far better suited to be the 3rd or 4th option on a good team.
Robinson’s hot start has covered up the fact that the Pistons are now relying on him way too much, which has shown on the nights when his shot wasn’t falling.
The Pistons may have their second option already on the roster, so it’s far too early to worry about the slow offensive start, but if this is still the case at the trade deadline, Detroit will have to consider a move.
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