The celebratory roars surrounding the Detroit Pistons’ rapid rise to NBA greatness mostly drown out the few alarm sirens sounding concerns for this club. But since swept-around-the-rug problems aren’t actually solved, there’s always the potential of them rearing their ugly, dream-derailing heads at the least opportune time.
That is, in a nutshell, the worry with the Pistons’ perimeter shooting problem. You want to believe that toughness, relentlessness, and all-in-your-airspace defense can help them overcome logistical issues in the postseason, but you also back-of-the-mind worry that they won’t have a counterpunch when teams inevitably overpack the paint and force Detroit to win games from distance.
“I do think this [lack of shooting] is the reason why their ceiling to me tops out as Finals team that probably wouldn’t have a chance against anyone coming out of the West, if that West team was healthy,” Zach Lowe said on The Zach Lowe Show. “… They could make the Finals because the East is what it is, but this is a real thing that they didn’t really address.”
Detroit’s shooting woes could cause even more damage during the postseason.
For all of the (legitimate) concern folks have about the Pistons’ lack of non-Cade Cunningham creation, the spacing concerns could be the bigger problem. Detroit at least has some ignitable scorers who can pop for 20-plus points here and there. But who’s responsible for maintaining what little breathing room this offense has?
Duncan Robinson is a true fire-baller (160 triples at a 40.1 percent clip so far), but as The Ringer’s Michael Pina noted, “We’ve seen, in past seasons when he was on the Miami Heat, him get played off the floor for his defense.” This is as good a place as any to note that Robinson’s defensive rating differential is a rotation-worst plus-7.3 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
But if Robinson isn’t protecting the spacing, who is? You’d think that responsibility would fall on the shoulders of deadline addition Kevin Huerter, but he’s already out of the rotation. Is there any reason to believe that some huge volume increase is coming for Tobias Harris, Caris LeVert, or sometimes-spacer Isaiah Stewart? Probably not.
With the three-ball being literally the most valuable shot in basketball—and franchises playing the NBA Math game better than ever before—it’s just hard to picture the Pistons winning it all without that. Because it’s not just struggling to keep pace with a splash-happy offense, it’s also the increased difficulty on two-point shots due to all of the inside-the-arc congestion improper spacing creates.
It would be objectively awesome if the Motor City had enough muscle and heart to overcome this on-court obstacle, but the Pistons would be paving an entirely unique path to make it happen. And that’s just borderline impossible to envision until you’re actually watching it happen.