The Detroit Pistons are an outlier among the NBA elite.
In a league that embraces the 3-point shot with every passing season, the Pistons are winning despite being seemingly anemic to it.
They are 27th in 3-point attempts per game (32) and 21st in 3-point percentage (35%) despite leading the Eastern Conference in record (32-11) by a whopping five games, mostly because they make up for it with strong defense and one of the league’s best transition offenses.
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But there are nights where their inability to hit outside shots bites them. Their 111-104 loss to the Houston Rockets at home on Friday, Jan. 23, was one of those nights.
Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff talks to Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson (9) and center Jalen Duren (0) on a timeout against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.
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The defeat featured one of their worst performances of the season beyond the arc: Seven makes in 32 attempts (21.9%).
Coupled with an uncharacteristically poor second half on defense, they trailed by as many as 14 as the Rockets ended their four-game winning streak. Two weeks ahead of the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline, outside shooting remains one of their biggest needs.
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“Things to work on,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of the team’s shooting after the loss. “Understanding how this team played us, where our spacing needs to be and then how we take advantage of it. And continuing to share the ball and generate the looks that we’re looking for, no matter if they’re going in or not, you’ve gotta play the right way.
“Our guys have played the right way, but again, opportunities for us to get better. That’s what we’ve been talking about, we’re not a finished product yet and we’re going to use all these games to find ways to improve on the way that teams might play us. Tonight was a good opportunity for us.”
Detroit Pistons guard Javonte Green (31) defends against Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first half at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.
The Pistons are 7-5 this season when they shoot below 30% on 3s, and 9-6 when they make fewer than 10 3s. Poor outside shooting has been a factor in more than half of their losses. Alternately, they’re 23-5 when they make at least 10 3-pointers.
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Duncan Robinson, 2-for-8 beyond the arc Friday, has carried their shooting. He’s knocking down 40.3% of his 3-pointers, for 120 makes – a pace that would give him 229 makes, second in franchise history (behind only Malik Beasley’s 319 last season) Cade Cunningham is second in makes with 70, on a 32.1% clip. Javonte Green is a distant third, with 48 makes and a percentage of 36.6%.
They’ve been good enough defensively to find ways to win in spite of their inconsistency from the arc. Their 108.5 defensive rating – No. 2 in the league – is largely thanks to their ability to force turnovers, which they’re second in the league, at 17.4 per game.
It sparks the Pistons’ offense, as they’re among the leaders in points in the paint and fastbreak points. When they fail to get stops, their transition offense dries up. They allowed Houston to shoot 62.9% in the second half, forcing repeated inboundings and an inability to push the pace.
“We weren’t playing to our identity,” Jalen Duren said. “I don’t think it’s nothing that they did, it was just us. We shot ourselves in the foot. Lack of energy-wise, that wasn’t Pistons basketball. We’ll be back at practice tomorrow, watch the film and see where we can get better at.”
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If the Pistons wish to upgrade their shooting, they have options. They have all of their first-round picks for the next seven seasons and a trove of second-rounders to include in any deals, in addition to players on tradeable contracts. They also have a trade exception worth $14.3 million, which they can use to absorb a player salary up to that amount.
Will the front office will go big or small to improve the offense, or even make a major move at all? A potential lack of urgency is understandable — this Pistons team is on pace to be only the third in franchise history to win at least 60 games, well ahead of schedule.
But if there is a move to make, 3-point shooting tops the needs to address.
“I think we generated some good looks,” Bickerstaff said. “I feel like there was maybe more to be had out there. But they’re a good defensive team, give them credit. They’re big, they’re athletic, they’re physical, they fight through screens, they switch a lot of screens which is typically where you can create your advantages. Those are things we’ll go back and we’ll work on and use tonight to get better from.”
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons need more outside shooting to go as far as possible