The Detroit Pistons have been one of the best teams in the league through the very early part of the season. However, they just lost their first game of the new campaign, falling to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. It was the first game that Duncan Robinson struggled from beyond the arc. Coincidence? Not really.
Obviously, the loss isn’t Robinson’s fault. But in the Pistons’ first three games, Robinson was lights-out from beyond the arc. Detroit got a major boost from its three-point shooting. The Pistons need to have a plan when the threes don’t fall, and on Tuesday, they couldn’t make up for that fact.
The Pistons don’t exactly have a ton of three-point shooters, so there are inevitably going to be nights when they don’t make a ton of threes. They need to be ready for that.
Pistons need a backup plan for three-point struggles
Robinson has been one of the most important players on the Pistons since he joined the team. His three-point shooting has been essential to their offense, and it still is.
In the Pistons’ first three games of the year, Robinson couldn’t miss. His three-point shooting was a huge reason why the Pistons were able to begin the year 3-0 against three top teams: The Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Robinson shot 5-of-9 from deep against the Celtics, 5-of-10 against the Heat, and 5-of-9 again against the Sixers. Then, against the Knicks on Tuesday night, he came back down to earth.
He got his shots up, but instead of making half, Robinson shot just 2-of-10 from deep range against the Knicks. The entire Pistons roster struggled to shoot the ball against New York.
As a team, the Pistons shot just 9-of-37 from three-point land against the Knicks. New York didn’t shoot super well (12-of-36) from deep, but the game still ended in a blowout for the Knicks.
Jalen Brunson lived at the free-throw line, Karl-Anthony Towns dominated the glass, and the Pistons’ offense just didn’t look like what it should be.
When the threes don’t fall, the Pistons need a backup plan. And they have plenty of options. Forcing turnovers with ball pressure. Crashing the offensive glass. Letting Cade Cunningham cook.
There are options there. The Pistons will be just fine. It was one loss. But it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the first game Robinson doesn’t shoot well, the Pistons lose.
It’s just a trend to keep an eye on.
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