The Detroit Pistons are 1-0. Despite the Boston Celtics leading by 22 points at one point, the Pistons were able to turn it around in the second half for an impressive comeback win. Against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, this is the exact start the Pistons were hoping for.
Of course, there are plenty of improvements to be made. The defensive communication and intensity were not as good as last season. John Collins didn't look like an upgrade over Tobias Harris. Ron Holland had a disastrous three-minute stint. The team wasn't drastically different than the one that lost to the Cavaliers in the second round a few months ago.
But there is a major reason for optimism.
The Pistons' shooting against the Celtics should give fans hope for the future
The Pistons were 15/40 from three on Tuesday. Duncan Robinson and Javonte Green combined for ten threes, while Isaiah Joe, Kevin Huerter, Cade Cunningham, and Daniss Jenkins all made a three.
This was one of the biggest weaknesses of the Pistons last season. They lacked shooting and spacing, allowing teams to pack the paint.
On paper, they didn't make a significant shooting upgrade outside of adding Isaiah Joe. But there was a clear emphasis on shooting in the season opener.
Generating threes is as important as making them. Detroit was terrible at that last season, taking only 30.9 threes per game, the second-lowest mark in the league. In only seven games out of 96 played last year did the Pistons take 40 threes or more. They hit that mark in the first game of the season.
The Pistons were clearly being very aggressive from downtown. Robinson and Joe were both looking to take a lot of threes. Green and Huerter both had the green light. No one was hesitating to take the shot when they had a semi-open look coming off screens.
There were also rotation choices from Bickerstaff to ensure there were multiple shooters on the floor at all times. Despite these lineups creating some defensive concerns, the Pistons had Robinson and Huerter on the court together for long stretches.
This perhaps caught the Celtics off-guard. They fouled three-point shooters on three separate occasions, helping the Pistons get easy points from the charity stripe and cut down the lead.
This has to continue for the Pistons to be a solid offense. It's so hard in today's NBA to be a good, playoff-level offense without generating threes. This requires intentionality from the coaching staff and execution from the players.
Detroit will never be a high-level shooting team. They will win games with defense and physicality. But to win a championship, you need to have the versatility when needed. Being able to put together lineups that can take and make threes will be an important tool for Bickerstaff in the playoffs.
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