The Detroit Pistons need to find some outside shooters
By Bob Heyrman
At times the Detroit Pistons struggle to score the basketball, especially from the outside; at times it can be as painful to watch as nails on a chalkboard.
The Detroit Pistons are dominate inside with Andre Drummond on the boards; he’s led the league three of the last four seasons in total rebounds. He’s coming off of a career-high 17.3 points per game scoring average to go with his 15.6 boards per game. Those are incredible numbers, but the big man provides no outside shooting what so ever. He isn’t a good free throw shooter; he tends to be lazy at times on the defensive end of the court. I don’t hate Drummond, but I feel if you have a player like this, it’s important to surround him with shooters.
The same goes for the teams’ franchise player Blake Griffin. Griffin had a fabulous first full season as a member of the Detroit Pistons, also achieving a career-high single-season average in points per game with 24.5. Griffin is a much better all-around player than Drummond but the two compliment one another pretty well.
It’s a shame it’s 2019 and not 2009 though. These two playing like this would have been much more effective ten or twenty years ago. Both players had career years, yet the Pistons were merely able to sneak into the playoffs before being abruptly eliminated in four games at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.
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The two big guys are not the reason the Detroit Pistons are not having more success; it’s the complimentary players. The Pistons need players like Tobias Harris, who they’ve had in the past but needed to move in order to land Blake Griffin. Even a reunion with Reggie Bullock, who shoots 39% from three would be a welcomed addition. The league is so dependent now on players who can shoot from range — an area the team so badly needs to improve on.
Luke Kennard gives the Detroit Pistons hope with his 40% average from three while averaging just 22-minutes a night. Expect Kennard to have a breakout season next year for the Detroit Pistons. He averaged 9.7 points per game in those limited minutes; the soon to be 23-year-old will see a boost in minutes next year, which should translate to more scoring opportunities. More shot attempts could lower the conversion rate, but if he can keep it around 40% from downtown, it will bode well to the success of the Pistons.
Reggie Jackson owns a career 33% career average from three. Bruce Brown shot a mere 26% from three in his first NBA season, terrible for a shooting guard. Wayne Ellington shot 37% from three last year for the Detroit Pistons mirroring his career average.
Next. Considering Mike Conley as a potential point guard. dark
To give you a quick comparison, a veteran addition of someone like Danny Green would help the Pistons tremendously. He shot 45% from three this past season with the Raptors. He’s shot well over 50% in the NBA finals from three during his entire career–clutch. Throughout ten NBA seasons,’ he’s averaged 40.4 from downtown. I can’t see him leaving the Raptors with how good they’ve been, but he is a pending veteran free agent who doesn’t break the bank. He’s in the final year of a four-year deal that paid him 40-million dollars.