Unexpected problem has Pistons worrying about the wrong thing

Coming into the playoffs, everyone talked about the Detroit Pistons’ lack of 3-point shooting, but instead they’ve had a sudden falloff at the rim. 

The Pistons dominated points in the paint on both ends in the regular season, and it was a big part of their success, helping to make up for their lack of volume and accuracy from the 3-point line. 

It’s been the opposite in this series against Cleveland, as the Pistons are struggling to score around the rim and have been carried by decent to great 3-point shooting. Detroit has hit 37, 50 and 36 percent from 3-point range in the three games thus far, which would normally be more than enough for three wins. 

But the Pistons percentage around the rim has plummeted, and there are some clear areas they have to improve. 

Pistons missing the bunnies 

Detroit has to be kicking themselves after leaving what probably should have been a 3-0 lead on the table last night. Timely turnovers were clearly a problem, but so were missed layups at the rim, and just about everyone got involved in the action. 

Cade Cunningham missed several layups (luckily he did get his own rebound on two of them), Ausar Thompson missed several bunnies at the rim, as did Jalen Duren. 

The Pistons are shooting just 59 percent on shots under five feet in the playoffs, which is down from 65 percent in the regular season. They are shooting 36 percent on shots between 5-9 feet, which is down from 40 percent in the regular season. 

These are the shots the Pistons want, but they just aren’t making them at the minute. 

Jalen Duren has to be better, or the Pistons are in trouble 

The Pistons’ field goal percentage was buoyed by Duren this season, as he shot 65 percent for the year and became just the second player in NBA history to average at least 19 points on 65 percent shooting. 

Flash forward to the present and Duren is shooting just 49 percent in the playoffs. Gone are the lobs, rolls and easy dunks, and in their place is Duren getting stuffed or just throwing up a wild contested shot. 

Part of it is that Duren is being exposed somewhat for having no bag around the rim. The sheer power moves that he normally uses to draw fouls aren’t getting the whistles, and he has little else to fall back on, but the Pistons also have to do a better job of getting him the ball on the move and into better angles. 

If the Pistons have to rely on their 3-point shooting to win this series, then they may be in trouble, as they’ve been too inconsistent all year. Instead, they just have to be better at their bread and butter and start knocking down more shots at the rim. 

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