In the modern NBA, being a shooting threat can be more important than actually making shots. If the opposing defenses fear your presence behind the arc and react to your actions with or without the ball accordingly, it can do wonders for your offense. The perfect example for this is Kevin Huerter of the Detroit Pistons.
Huerter has not been able to give Detroit what many had hoped for since his acquisition from the Chicago Bulls at the trade deadline. The Pistons needed more shooting, and Huerter had a track record of shooting at a high clip. Since arriving in Detroit, however, he hasn't been able to make shots. He is shooting a miserable 4/24 from downtown (16.7 percent) and has a True Shooting percentage of 46.4. For a player whose calling card is his offense, that is clearly not good enough.
As a result, Huerter hasn't played as much as some thought, being a healthy scratch in six games and averaging less than 15 minutes per game when he sees the floor.
Over the last week, however, Huerter has made the most of his opportunities. Seeing increased playing time with Ausar Thompson out and Caris LeVert missing some time, Huerter is making an impact, even with his shot not falling.
Kevin Huerter Has Earned Himself Playing Time With Offensive Impact
In the last four games, Huerter has played 19 minutes per game. He is averaging 6.5 points per game and made only three of his 14 attempts from beyond the arc. Yet, his impact on the game goes beyond the box score stats. Even the fact that the 27-year-old shooting guard can get that many threes up helps the team. This creates space for his teammates, allowing Cade Cunningham and the rest of the shot creators to operate more freely.
It is not a coincidence that the Pistons won Huerter's minutes in all four of those games. Even in the three consecutive losses against the Spurs, Nets, and the Heat, Detroit was +28 when Huerter was on the floor. In Tuesday's win in Brooklyn, Huerter was +19 in 22 minutes.
The Pistons have a 121.4 offensive rating with Huerter on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass. This is better than the Denver Nuggets' league-best offensive rating of 121.3. When Huerter is on the floor, Detroit has a +7.7 net rating, thanks to the elite offensive production of the lineups with him in it.
It's important to note that this is a small sample. Huerter has played nine games and 131 minutes so far as a Piston. It's difficult to take too much away from such a sample size. At the same time, it's safe to assume that Huerter should continue to get minutes even when Thompson and LeVert return from their injuries.