The Detroit Pistons added John Collins and Isaiah Joe to give them more shooters who can spread the floor for Cade Cunningham, and we saw it last night even though the new additions struggled.
Collins had a tough matchup against Paul George and eventually got ousted in favor of Javonte Green, who did a much better job and knocked down timely 3-point shots on top of it.
Isaiah Joe got some good looks, but only knocked down two of his seven 3-point attempts, so the two of them were 2-of-10 from long range on the night.
The shots weren't falling last night, but their presence alone was enough to change the look of the Pistons' offense.
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren had more space in the second half
The Pistons’ half-court offense was atrocious at times last night, a stagnant pool that reminded me far too much of last year’s playoffs.
JB Bickerstaff switched things in the second half by getting more shooting on the floor, which opened things up for Cade Cunningham to go to work.
Cunningham had 14 of his 22 points in the second half after coach Bickerstaff went with lineups full of shooters.
With combinations of Joe, Robinson, Huerter, Collins and Green, coach Bickerstaff was able to force the Celtics to defend the perimeter and not collapse into the paint as they were doing in the first half and most of the third quarter.
This is a counter the Pistons didn’t have last season, when they didn’t have as many shooters that defenses had to pay attention to beyond the 3-point line.
Jalen Duren was also a beneficiary of being surrounded by shooters, as the Pistons went off in the 4th quarter with a lineup of Daniss Jenkins, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Javonte Green and Duren.
They spread the floor, leaving Duren on an island in the middle, and he was able to get a couple of easy dunks because the Celtics had to honor the 3-point line with the Pistons hitting a flurry of them.
It wasn’t the new players who did most of the damage, but having them allowed the Pistons to keep three shooters around Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren at all times in the second half which opened up space in the middle of the defense.
This wasn’t an option they had last season, so the new shooters are already paying early returns even though they haven’t heated up.
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