The Pistons bounced back in a big way on Saturday night by beating the Bucks to avenge an embarrassing loss earlier in the week. In that loss, the Pistons struggled against the Bucks' zone defense but found ways to beat it on Saturday. Their improved 3-point shooting and off-ball movement were key to fixing their previous issues.
The Pistons have found new offensive strengths
In a very encouraging sign, the Pistons seemed very intentional in attacking the zone this time around. They had better off-ball cutting from slashers to exploit the weakness in the 2-3 zone. This was most obvious in Ausar Thompson's play, as he chose to attack the paint rather than settling for the open corner threes that the Bucks offered.
Ausar's aggressiveness opened opportunities for better shooters to take outside shots and for him to score points in the midrange or at the rim. It paid dividends on a team level, as the Pistons finished with 31 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 38% from three.
One of the biggest critics of the Bucks' zone was Isaiah Stewart. During a halftime interview, he declared "It ain't really a hard zone. We just gotta move them around." Stewart, typically known for his defense, lived up to his words with a surprising offensive performance. He finished with 19 points while shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three.
Stewart was a perfect representation of the Pistons' improved response to the zone. He positioned himself for corner threes, which he is very capable of hitting (50% from the corners this season), rather than forcing Thompson or Ron Holland II into those spots. Additionally, Stewart patiently used his physicality to attack in the paint rather than rushing himself and turning the ball over.
The Pistons as a whole had much more emphasis on attacking the rim rather than settling for outside shots in this game. They realized that the true way to break a zone defense is to force it to collapse in the paint. This leads to either makeable shots at the rim or completely wide open threes on the offense's terms. With the elite athletes and finishing talent on this team, that needs to be the Pistons' primary offensive focus every game - regardless of what coverage the opposing defense throws at them.
Adapting so effectively and so quickly to a defensive kryptonite is a great sign for the Pistons. It shows impressive game planning from the coaching staff and proper buy-in from the players. When the playoffs roll around, the Pistons will inevitably have some stretches where they need to change strategies in between games of a series. Rather than waiting for the postseason, they are already getting some experience in adaptability now.