The Detroit Pistons weren’t a good free-throw shooting team last season and there is no sign that anything has changed so far in the preseason.
Everything has a PRESEASON DISCLAIMER on it right now, but when we are talking about a problem that goes back to last season, it’s more concerning.
The Pistons were just 18th in the NBA in free-throw percentage last season and that is important, as they got to the line at a high clip, finishing 9th overall in free-throw attempts per game, which means they are leaving a lot of points at the line.
Not much has changed so far in the preseason, as the Pistons have been regular visitors to the free-throw line, shooting 29 and 33 of them in the first two games, but they’ve only hit 66 percent as a team, and that’s with Cade Cunningham going 8-for-8 last night.
Cunningham is not the problem, but it is a problem for the Pistons, who need improvement from some of their key players.
Detroit Pistons: 3 bad free-throw shooters in the starting five
Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren didn’t play last night, but their returns won’t be adding to the Pistons’ free-throw percentage, as Duren shot just 67 percent last season and Ivey 73 percent.
Duren did improve as the season went on last year and shot 79 percent the season before, so there is hope he can get back to those levels, which will be a huge weapon for him and keep him on the floor at the end of games.
Jaden Ivey simply has to get better, as you can’t have one of your lead guards shooting below league average from the free-throw line. It’s a part of his game that doesn’t get discussed enough. He did make the necessary improvements from long range, but actually got worse at the line, something he has to fix. This is a guy who can get to the line 4-5 times a game, so making a better percentage would give him a nice bump in scoring.
It’s unacceptable and he has to improve.
Malik Beasley was also a poor free-throw shooter, and he’s been replaced with Duncan Robinson, who shoots 87 percent for his career. The problem is that he rarely shoots free throws, so It’s not going to matter much.
Caris LeVert may be a better all-around player than THJ, but he's a far worse free-throw shooter, hitting just 73 percent for his career compared to over 81 percent for Hardaway Jr.
Ausar Thompson figures to have the ball in his hands more this season, which should mean more trips to the line, but he too has been bad, shooting just 64 percent last season. He went 5-of-10 last night, accounting for half of the Pistons’ misses.
Detroit missed 10 free throws, which would have swung the game. It’s just the preseason, but that same math applies to the regular season as well.
Free throws are often the difference in close games, so the Pistons have to get closer to the 80+ percent we saw from the top five teams last season, or they are going to lose some winnable games.