The Detroit Pistons wrapped up a brutal six-game schedule, which included two games against the San Antonio Spurs, two against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pistons went a respectable 3-3 in that span, but plenty of questions were raised about their playoff viability.
The biggest issue for the Pistons was, once again, their offensive production. Going up against the Spurs on Thursday, they had a 112.9 offensive rating. This was the fifth time in their last six games that the Pistons had a lower offensive rating than their season average of 117.2, per Cleaning The Glass.
The numbers in the half-court are even gnarlier. After only scoring 65.6 points per 100 possessions in the half-court in the previous Spurs matchup (one of the lowest marks for any team all season), the Pistons had an 88.8 offensive rating in the half-court on Thursday.
Considering that this has been a season-wide trend for the Pistons only raises the concern level. The Pistons are currently 18th in half-court offensive rating and 11th in overall offense. Throughout the season, Detroit has overcome its shortcomings by getting out in transition and crashing the offensive glass, largely winning on the defensive side of the ball.
Pistons' Offense Isn't Good Enough to Win a Title Right Now
While that is a good enough formula to win games in the regular season, it's not good enough to win four playoff series to win a title. Opposing teams are better prepared and focus on taking away your strengths. The game slows down, and there are fewer opportunities to get out in transition. This carries the risk of further kneecapping the Pistons' already struggling offense.
The issue, as it has been all season, is the lack of perimeter threats outside of Cade Cunningham. Not only are the Pistons struggling to get enough shot creation outside of their superstar, but they are also not putting enough shooting around him. Only the Sacramento Kings, which have the worst record in the NBA, take a lower percentage of their shots as three-pointers.
While the rest of the league is taking 38.2% of their shots from downtown, the Pistons have hit that league average mark once in their last 19 games.
This makes Detroit a predictable, easy-to-slow-down offense. There are a lot of head-first drives that don't go anywhere, especially against a solid defense with good rim protection. It's not a surprise that Victor Wembanyama blocked 11 shots in his two games against Detroit this season. When there isn't enough spacing, rim protectors like Wembanyama can stay around the basket and block shots.
At this point in the season, a radical change might not be possible, but head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has to try different things. Kevin Huerter's minutes went well on Thursday, so playing him more to get some shooting on the floor could be a good idea. Playing more offense-first players like Huerter and Marcus Sasser, even if it means sacrificing some of your defense, may be the only way to boost the team's offense.
Otherwise, Pistons fans will see a frustrating repetition of this recent stretch in the playoffs.