The Detroit Pistons are trying to work new players into the rotation and have gotten mixed results in their first two preseason games.
Sharpshooter Isaiah Joe has struggled to shoot the ball, which might be concerning if he didn’t already have a consistent history of being one of the best high-volume shooters in the league.
He’s hit just one of his 13 attempts from long range through two preseason games and has turned the ball over four times, both of which are unusual for Joe and the result of trying to do a little too much on his new team.
The Pistons don’t need Isaiah Joe to be a creator
It’s not uncommon for players to press when they join a new team, as they are eager to impress their new teammates and fans, which seems to be the case with Joe, who has been doing things that are outside of his comfort zone.
Joe has put the ball on the floor several times and tried to attack off the bounce, which is not his strength. We’ve talked all offseason about the Pistons’ lack of creation, but that’s not why they traded for Isaiah Joe.
His job is to space the floor with his shooting, so most of the time Joe gets the ball, he’ll either be shooting immediately or keeping it moving, which he has not done well in the first two games.
A perfect example came late in the 1st quarter. Joe got the ball on an inbounds play that was clearly run for him to get a 3-pointer. That shot was there, but he chose to attack off the dribble instead, ran into a wall of defenders and needed Ebuka Okorie to bail him out with a tough shot. Joe complicated a play where he should have just let it fly.
I saw Joe described as a 0-2 dribble player, and anything more than that is trouble, which is reminiscent of former Pistons sharpshooter Malik Beasley, who was liability as soon as he put the ball on the floor.
Last season, five of Joe’s seven field goal attempts per game were catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, so this is not a player who is going to put the ball on the floor much, and we’ve seen why in the first two games, as he’s gotten locked up a few times (once by Anthony Davis on the perimeter) and has turned it over far more than the Pistons would like.
Players often use the preseason to work on new parts of their games, and it’s not like we’ve never seen a great shooter struggle early on with a new team, as we saw it at this same time last year with Duncan Robinson, who couldn’t hit a shot in preseason.
Joe will get back to doing what he does best, which is simple: Catch the ball, shoot the ball. But right now, he is pressing and trying to do too much when he just needs to be himself.
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