Surprising numbers as Pistons' offense and defense go in opposite directions

The Detroit Pistons knew coming into the season that if they wanted to be competitive they had to improve on both sides of the ball. 

They were near the bottom of the league in both offense and defense during last year’s historically bad season and have been during the entirety of this awful five-year stretch. 

Trajan Langdon made moves that looked to address one side of the ball and not the other, as he added Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley, veterans who are more known for their scoring than their defense. 

When it was revealed that Ausar Thompson was out indefinitely to start the season, it looked like the defensive improvements the Pistons needed would be hard to come by. 

But even with Thompson out, the Pistons have been markedly better on defense this season, improving from 25th in defensive rating last year all the way up to 13th so far in this one. 

They are 8th overall in points per game allowed at 109.3 per game, a 10-point improvement from last season when they were near the bottom of the league.  

The defensive effort has been there, even from the guys who aren’t known as great defenders, and both Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland II have been difference makers off the bench. 

A 10-point improvement on defense exceeds anyone’s expectations, so the Pistons are checking that box, at least so far. 

It’s been the offense that has struggled. 

Detroit Pistons stats: Offensive woes 

The Pistons’ offense, which was the area of focus in the offseason, is going in the other direction, as they are scoring more than three fewer points per game than they did last season, when they finished 25th in the NBA in the category. 

They are currently 27th and scoring just 106.3 points per game, more than 15 points per game fewer than the top three teams in scoring this season (Cleveland, Boston and Golden State). 

The problem has mostly been the 3-ball, as the Pistons aren’t shooting or making enough of them, which was evident in last night’s heartbreaking loss to the Hornets. The Pistons shot nearly 50 percent as a team but lost because the Hornets made more 3’s on a night when both teams struggled from long range. The Hornets just shot more and hit the big ones.

Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Simone Fontecchio have been the unexpected culprits, as the three are shooting just 16, 33 and 31 percent from long range, respectively. 

They have all particularly struggled from the corner, which I wrote about earlier. Given that is the easiest 3-point shot on the court for most players, you have to assume these three will start knocking them down given their consistent history of accurate shooting. 

This isn’t the worst news for the Pistons, as the offense has mostly been working and these guys have just missed open shots, which will revert to the norm over time. The defense has been much better, which is the main takeaway, as defense is sustainable.

If the Pistons continue to defend at an above-league-average level, they will be in good shape when the offense catches up, which it should.