A potential advantage the Detroit Pistons haven't tapped into

Isaiah Stewart knew what his game was when he came into the league. He’s an undersized center who thrives on physicality and energy. Unfortunately for him, and for the Detroit Pistons, the days of 6-foot-9 Ben Wallace being a top center in the league are over.

In today’s NBA, the best centers are 7-foot guys who can extend past the perimeter. Isaiah Stewart was neither. So Monty Williams, as part of his bigger plan that largely fell on its face, converted Stewart to a power forward and tasked him to work on his three-point shooting. And he did. 

Stewart went from shooting .6 three point attempts per night, to 4.1 with a shooting percentage of 32 percent. The next year, last season, Stewart ended with 3.8 attempts and connected on 38 percent of them. This percentage made Beef Stew Detroit’s second best three-point shooter (who would finish the year with the team), only behind Simone Fontecchio. Monty had tasked Stewart to become a perimeter threat, and he did. 

It wasn’t all perfect, however. Isaiah’s natural position is an undersized center. He lacks the athleticism and handle to properly operate on the wing. If a defender were to come out and defend him out there, Stew was not very good at attacking the closeout and getting into the lane.

Fast forward to this year. One of the first things that JB Bickerstaff said was that Stewart would be moved back to backup center, and Stewart seemed thrilled. 

“I spent a lot of time this offseason at the five and I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to getting back down in the paint, banging and doing what I do because at the end of the day, that’s what I love to do. That’s who I am.”

That move for Isaiah has been up and down so far this year, but one thing that’s only been down is his three-point shooting. He went from 38 percent on 3.8 attempts per night, to just .4 attempts per game. To make matters worse, Isaiah Stewart has still yet to connect on a three this year, now nine games into the season. He is currently 0-4 from deep.

Should we sound the alarm?

So should we be concerned? Because of the position change, I would expect to see his numbers drop. He’s seeing fewer minutes and developing more of an inside game so that would make sense. To see him not hitting at the same rate, or even slightly below, however, is concerning.

If Detroit is running a high low with Cade and Stewart or a pick-and-roll, Stew having the ability to step back and let it fly if the defender sags off is a tremendous advantage. Playing a five-out lineup is all the rave in the NBA today, and Detroit almost had the makings of one.

Isaiah Stewart is definitely happier playing the five, which is great. But, Fred Vinson may need to take some time from working with Ausar and Ron to figure out what is happening with Isaiah Stewart.