The Pistons' biggest problem once again reared its ugly head when their poor 3-point shooting dug them into a huge hole on Thursday night. They hit just 9 threes total and Marcus Sasser was the only Piston with a good shooting game. The visiting Heat hit 5 more threes than the Pistons, which allowed them to jump out to a big lead and ultimately the win.
The Pistons desperately need to address their lack of shooting
Although the Pistons have been dominant in the paint this season, their outside shooting has been a major weakness. They rank bottom 5 in the NBA when it comes to threes made per game. Even with all of the Pistons' strengths on defense and interior scoring, it's difficult to find consistent success with such poor shooting.
In this game, the impact of the Pistons' shooting was glaringly obvious. The team struggled to hit anything from outside for a majority of the game and fell behind by 22 in the third quarter. But Marcus Sasser's hot streak of hitting 4 threes in a span of about 8 minutes helped narrow that gap to just 6.
As the Pistons hit some outside shots, they found more success on the scoreboard as well. Not only do points add up when they're hitting threes, but it also opens up other aspects of the offense. When opposing defenses have to respect outside shooters, ball handlers and cutters have more space to attack the rim.
On the other hand, the Pistons seemed helpless at times against the Heat's three-point attack. Norman Powell poured in 36 points and 7 threes of his own. His supreme confidence shooting the ball was a game-changer. Powell's multiple threes off of turnovers made the Pistons' mistakes doubly painful.
The Pistons are still in first place atop the Eastern Conference, but the question of their shooting will be a major one going forward. For the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, Detroit should pursue shooting upgrades to improve the roster. If they can't address this weakness, it'll be hard to find consistent success.
The Pistons don't necessarily need to shoot 40% from deep or take 40 threes a game like the league leaders to become more potent as an offense. Even marginal upgrades in shooting efficiency and confidence will bend defenses to their advantage. Importantly, the Pistons need to have multiple shooting threats that strike fear in opponents; only Sasser or Duncan Robinson will not be enough.
As the season progresses, the Pistons' biggest weakness will be exploited more and more by other teams. The front office must address the shooting concerns before it becomes a major problem.