The Detroit Pistons’ offseason took an unexpected turn with the news that Malik Beasley was under federal investigation for gambling, but the silver lining of this unfortunate situation came in the form of Duncan Robinson.
Beasley had a historic season shooting the ball, so it was never going to be easy to replace 300+ made 3-pointers from a team that didn’t shoot or make enough of them even with Beasley’s high volume and accuracy.
Robinson isn’t going to replace all of that by himself, but he’s no slouch and has long been one of the most accurate high-volume 3-point shooter in the league, knocking down just under 40 percent last season on 6.5 attempts per game.
While Beasley might be a slightly better 3-point shooter, Robinson brings more to the offense overall and should give the Pistons a more dynamic look.
Duncan Robinson is a connector who can attack
For most of his early career, Robinson was strictly a catch-and-shoot 3-point guy who didn’t do much else with the ball.
But the last two seasons, Robinson has been more effective attacking close outs and getting to the rim. Even though his usage rate was three percent lower than Beasley’s, Robinson got more shots near the rim and hit 62.7 percent of them, while Beasley only made 55 percent.
Neither guy is going to live at the rim, but Robinson has shown he can attack when defenders close out recklessly.
Robinson is also a better and more willing passer than Beasley, who was strictly looking for his own shot whenever he caught the ball. Robinson is a better connector who will keep the ball moving when the shot isn’t there, where Beasley was generally a black hole who shot the ball as soon as he touched it.
Robinson also had a nice two-man game going with Bam Adebayo, something he can hopefully replicate with Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. Here are some highlights of Robinson working in the dribble handoff with Adebayo, something you can envision with Duren.
Duren continued to improve as a passer from the elbow spot at the top of the key, so we will see action with him and Robinson in pick-and-roll situations, something we didn’t see with Beasley, who was mostly just running off screens looking for catch-and-shoot opportunities.
Robinson isn’t as prolific a 3-point shooter, but he has a more well-rounded game that should allow the Pistons to use a larger variety of looks, something they desperately needed in the playoffs.
Losing Beasley was a blow, but they replaced him with a smart player in Robinson who can impact an offense in more ways.