The Detroit Pistons will still be missing Jalen Duren and Isaiah Joe tonight when they take on the hated Lakers in Little Caesar’s Arena.
This is nothing new, as Duren has been out for all but 1.5 games of the season and Joe after just four minutes of run in the third game. The Pistons have managed to get along without them, starting at 6-2, but their absence is starting to be felt in a couple of ways.
Pistons are not cleaning up the glass at the same rate they did last season, and Duren’s absence is the obvious reason, especially on the offensive end.
Detroit was 2nd in offensive rebounding rate last season and has dropped to near the bottom of the league in this one, so they are feeling the effects of Duren’s injury.
The Pistons are missing Duren’s high-percentage shots in the paint as well and have dropped from 2nd in the league in points in the paint last season all the way to 21st in this one.
Part of this is by design, as the Pistons made an effort to add more variety to their team shot diet with more 3-pointers, but part of it is not having Duren there to clean up offensive rebounds and get easy buckets off lobs.
It’s ultimately a good thing that Detroit’s offense has more versatility, but they’ve taken a huge dip in two areas that helped carry them last season. The good news is that they can expect these numbers to change dramatically as soon as Duren returns.
Isaiah Joe is missing out on the 3-point party
The Pistons have gotten out to a good start mostly because of defense and 3-point accuracy, as they have the number one defense in the NBA and are 6th in 3-point percentage, two metrics that point to postseason success.
But they are still in the bottom half of the league in 3-point attempts per game, partly because they’ve been missing Isaiah Joe, who will add another 5-6 attempts to their total.
Joe hadn’t even gotten a chance to get going before crashing down hard on his hip on a dunk attempt, so even though the Pistons’ 3-point shooting has been good so far, it can be even better.
These two things are related, as one opens up the other, so getting their paint monster back to go with another sharpshooter, should help get this Pistons’ offense humming.
The injuries are affecting them on two levels, in the paint and outside the arc, and it’s exciting to imagine what this team will look like when it’s finally back to full strength with everyone playing well.
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