Detroit Pistons: How newcomers could affect offensive statistics

In head coach Dwane Casey’s first full season with the Detroit Pistons, the team quickly adopted his style to their play. Shooting attempts from three went up, while inefficient long 2-point field goals went down. Naturally, total points increased, too, but not enough to get them higher than eighth in the conference.

For the Detroit Pistons to match their 41 wins from last season (or their lackluster 37.5 projected wins in Vegas), some things need to change on the offensive side of the court. They ranked in the bottom third in assists per game, shooting percentage, and pace of play. These factors–all interrelated–need to improve for the Pistons to have a shot at making the playoffs.

The other half of Casey’s traditional gameplan is rapid ball movement: quick assists leading to isolation and open shots. This side of the offense went mostly ignored. Total assists dropped from the previous year, and as a result, so did catch-and-shoot type shots. The Pistons made 70 more shots of this variety than the season prior. They were leaving points on the table.

The pace of play was also not in lockstep with the rest of the league. The Pistons took a significant amount of shots in the last seven seconds of the shot clock. The sheer amount of time players held on to the ball increased. This slowing of the game was counterproductive. Sure, points per possession went up, but the number of possessions needed to grow as well to take advantage.

More from Detroit Pistons

• This Pistons Team Could be the Worst in Detroit Sports History
• Could the Pistons Have the Longest Losing Streak in NBA History? 
• What Ausar Thompson and Bill Walton Already Have in Common
• WATCH: Awesome Alley-Oop From Pistons’ Rookies Showcases Exciting Future
• 3 Michigan Sportsbook Promos You Can’t Afford to Miss (Unlock Over $2,400!)

Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the year was in overall field goal percentage. Their level of 44% shooting was good for 29th in the league. Put another way, the Pistons made twenty fewer field goals than the year before, despite taking a hundred more attempts. This is not a good trend.

How do the Pistons reverse this regression? On the personnel level, some individuals should make a bit of a difference. Tony Snell is a better shooter than newly vacated players, Wayne Ellington and Glenn Robinson. Derrick Rose is coming off his second-best shooting season ever, at 48%. However, they slot into the depth chart could also slide Luke Kennard–the team’s best shooter from three–into a more primary role at two-guard.

The new Pistons should be able to improve their pace as well. Of the additions, Snell is also on par with Luke Kennard when it comes to his ability to catch-and-shoot. This means there could be an increase of quick isolation shots. Furthermore, Rose boasts an impressive career 30% assist percentage, so the Pistons could opt to run the offense through him as needed.

The Detroit Pistons found their way into the playoffs last season despite being near the bottom in several offensive categories. If they can improve on any facet–even marginally–they will be more competitive come April.