It was certainly a season opener to forget for the Detroit Pistons. Despite mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter and making it a close game where they could have won it, the Pistons were outplayed by the Chicago Bulls for long stretches of the game.
Detroit's offense didn't click until the final quarter, and the lack of shooting and cramped spacing were obvious all game. One of the reasons for the struggles was an offseason decision the Pistons made, potentially leaving the front office with some regrets after just one game.
Pistons' Decision to Sign, Play Javonte Green Hurt Them in Game 1
The Pistons signed veteran wing Javonte Green to a one-year deal in the offseason. While some thought of him as a deep bench option before the campaign, he was a part of the rotation in the season opener, getting minutes as the ninth man. He played 10 minutes, missed two of his shots, didn't take a single three-pointer, and finished with no points, rebounds, or assists.
To be fair, Green added a steal and a block and had decent sequences on the defensive end; however, the decision to sign him never made any sense, and this was made very clear against the Bulls.
The 32-year-old is a solid defender in his career, but has never been a consistent part of the rotation on a good team. He is a limited offensive player who is a poor shooter for his position. He averages 1.4 three-point attempts in 16.8 minutes per game for his career, and only makes 33.8% of them.
That is the last player type the Pistons needed on this roster. Detroit already has Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, whose jump shots are liabilities. Plus, the Pistons play a non-shooting center in Jalen Duren, and a limited shooter, Isaiah Stewart, as his backup. Caris LeVert and Tobias Harris have shot the ball well at times in their careers, but they don't shoot it at volume.
The Pistons already had a big spacing problem due to all of these issues. Instead of signing a shooting specialist to a minimum contract, general manager Trajan Langdon went out and signed Javonte Green, an older and much worse version of Thompson and Holland.
The Pistons already have great perimeter defenders. Thompson, Holland, LeVert, and Cunningham can all guard multiple positions on the wing. They don't need Green in that mix. What Detroit desperately needs is more shooting, and ignoring this came back to bite them in the season opener.
Let's hope head coach J.B. Bickerstaff makes the necessary adjustments and plays rookie Chaz Lanier over Green, and the front office considers adding a sharpshooting free agent sooner rather than later.