An overloooked area where the Detroit Pistons haven't improved

The Detroit Pistons have no rim protection 

Of the Pistons’ three big men (Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, Paul Reed), only Reed blocked at least a shot per game last season, making him the best shot blocker on the team and he’s an undersized third big man, not someone who will play huge minutes unless there are injuries. 

Behind him is wing Ausar Thompson when it comes to blocks per game. 

If the Pistons are going to have mediocre to bad perimeter defenders on the floor they are going to be in trouble, as there isn’t much shot blocking in the lane to clean up mistakes.  

For the Pistons to make a big leap next season on defense, they need better rim protection and to cut down on the 54 points in the paint they allowed per game, which is nearly 10 points worse than the best teams in that area. 

Defense is a team skill, and hopefully just adding more competent defenders will upgrade the unit overall, but they will also need big individual leaps, especially from Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren. 

It’s not an area we’ve talked much about, but it’s equally as important as shooting and it’s not clear how much the Pistons have improved.