Huge clutch-time improvement held back by ugly Pistons' problem

The Detroit Pistons may not be great, or even good, this season, but they certainly haven’t been boring. 

They’ve only been blown out three times and have already played 11 clutch-time games, six of which came down to the final possessions. 

I may have to get back into the gym to keep up with these agents of NBA chaos.

Winning close games is not something the Pistons have done much of in recent years, as they were dead last in clutch-time winning percentage in both of the last two seasons. Clutch-time is essentially the last five minutes of a close game. 

A lot has been made about the Pistons’ inability to close games, but they are vastly improved already this season with a record of 5-6, a 45.5 clutch-time winning percentage that is double what they had last season when they only won eight close games total. 

That is good for 16th in the NBA, so middle of the pack, not great, but a huge improvement from last season. 

It’s great that they have gotten better in close games, but the frustrating part is that they’ve left games on the table because of one huge deficiency.  

Detroit Pistons stats: Free-throw shooting in the clutch 

The Pistons have been a bad free-throw shooting team in general this season, as they are just 25th in the NBA, shooting 76.3 percent overall from the line as a team. 

But that number has been even uglier in the clutch, when the Pistons have hit an appalling 57.1 percent of their free throws, easily the worst in the NBA. 

Just about all of the regulars have been culprits except Cade Cunningham, who has made 9-of-11 in clutch-time situations. It’s still below his 85 percent average but he’s been getting to the line in tight games and has made most of them. 

Jaden Ivey has gotten there even more often, with 13 attempts in the clutch, but he has only made eight of them for 61.5 percent. 

Malik Beasley and Jalen Duren are both shooting 50 percent and both have been bad in general, hitting just 71 percent and 57 percent, respectively, on the season. Duren hit 79 percent just last season and Beasley is a 79.4 percent free-throw shooter for his career, so you have to hope they improve over time. 

Both Ron Holland II and Tobias Harris have missed a pair apiece, and in the case of Holland, one of them would have sealed the game for the Pistons. 

That’s 18 points the Pistons have left at the line in clutch-time situations and at least one win, probably more. 

Ivey and Duren in particular have to be better, as they are getting to the line in these close-game situations at a fair clip, but not cashing in on the freebies. 

Taking care of the ball and making free throws are crucial to winning close games and the Pistons haven’t been good at either even though they’ve improved drastically from last season in the win column.