Despite expectations of some fans to upgrade the roster significantly in the offseason, the Detroit Pistons largely stood pat. They retained most of their core players and made moves on the margins. They hope that adding John Collins and Isaiah Joe to replace Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, and Caris LeVert will give them the offensive boost they need.
Only making changes on the margins means that some of the problems that plagued the Pistons still haven't been resolved. One of those is the highly questionable fit of Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland.
Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland aren't showing sufficient offensive improvement
The Pistons invested in Ausar in the offseason, giving him a five-year, $155 million extension. They also held onto Holland, even though the 21-year-old small forward hasn't shown sufficient development over the first two seasons of his career.
Thompson already creates offensive issues due to his inability to shoot and score. He is difficult to play next to other non-shooters because of spacing concerns. That is why the Pistons are experimenting with giving him more on-ball reps this season.
Holland is a similarly poor offensive player. He is one of the worst shooting perimeter players in the NBA. Unless one of Holland and Thompson takes massive steps forward offensively, it will be very difficult to play them next to one another, especially considering the Pistons don't have floor-spacing centers.
Neither Thompson or Holland has shown the necessary strides so far in the preseason.
Yes, Thompson hit a couple of mid-rangers in the preseason opener against the Suns. But he followed that up with a complete dud on Saturday. Against the Wizards, he went 1/7 from the field for two points and two assists in 15 minutes of action. He had six fouls in those minutes and Detroit lost his minutes by 17.
Holland, on the other hand, had eight points on 3/7 shooting. The Pistons lost the 13 minutes he was on the court by 13 points.
Through two preseason games, Holland has one assist and four turnovers. He has shot 36.8% from the field, including 1/6 from three.
At least Holland is attempting threes. Thompson is 0/1 from downtown in 33 preseason minutes.
That is why holding onto Holland when you are so heavily invested in Thompson made little sense. Ahead of his third season in the league, Holland still had some trade value. Attaching draft capital next to him to acquire a better offensive player this offseason would have been the smarter move for the Pistons' front office.
As good as the Thompson-Holland duo is defensively, it's impossible to imagine them surviving offensively in the modern NBA. What we have seen so far in the preseason so far suggests that this problem isn't going anywhere.
Add us as a preferred source on Google