When the Detroit Pistons' season ended with a disappointing Round 2 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, general manager Trajan Langdon identified the team's weaknesses as shooting and ball-handling. He expressed his desire to have multiple ball-handlers and more shooting on the floor to open things up for the team's best players.
Saying this right before the NBA Draft and free agency suggested that the Pistons would be aggressive in going after shooters and ball-handlers.
They have done a good job adding more shooting. Isaiah Joe should make a big difference there, and John Collins is a solid shooter, albeit on low volume. Retaining Kevin Huerter and Duncan Robinson also suggests that this was an offseason priority.
The same can't be said about ball-handling. Other than drafting Ebuka Okorie, the Pistons haven't added a playmaker, and Okorie is unlikely to be an immediate contributor as a rookie. As things stand now, ball-handling remains as big a weakness as it was a few months ago.
If anything, the Pistons may have gotten worse on that front.
Pistons' lack of quality ball-handlers continues to be a problem
Even if we buy the argument that Collins is an upgrade over Tobias Harris, he is certainly not a better ball-handler and shot creator. Collins has done very little creation for himself or for his teammates throughout his career. He is a much more dependent player on offense than Harris.
In every season of his career, at least 70% of Collins' made field goals were assisted, per Cleaning the Glass. Last season, Collins didn't make a single three-pointer that was self-created, demonstrating his role as a play finisher.
Harris, on the other hand, can put the ball on the floor and attack a close-out. He isn't particularly great at it, but he consistently generates mid-range shots for himself off the dribble.
Last season, 37% of the shots Harris made were self-created as opposed to only 22% for Collins, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Pistons could give the ball to Harris on a mismatch and expect that he could create an average look. Whether Collins can do that is unclear.
Joe doesn't solve this problem, either. Over two-thirds of Joe's shots last season came after zero dribbles, per NBA.com tracking data. He does very little in terms of handling the ball and creating advantages. He is obviously a much better player than Marcus Sasser and Caris LeVert, but he isn't as good at putting the ball on the floor as either player.
The Pistons may have gotten better overall. Collins and Joe are good players who will help the team. But they aren't going to fix the ball-handling problem that the Pistons suffered from. Langdon made the needs of the team clear before the offseason, but has failed to address them so far. This has to be disappointing for Pistons fans.
Add us as a preferred source on Google