Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between the last two seasons
The Detroit Pistons are officially one-quarter of the way through the season. It feels like there’s a consensus out there that the first quarter of the schedule is the first time there’s a big enough sample size to truly understand NBA teams. Let’s use the first 21 games of this season to see how JBB’s Pistons team compares to last year’s franchise-worst season.
Before we look at the individual stats of the core guys, let’s look at team stats. (The stats from the Philadelphia 76ers game on 11/30 are not included, as this was written beforehand)
Offense
Points per game:
- 2023: 109.9
- 2024: 110.5
Field goal percentage:
- 2023: 40.9/88.2 = 46.3%
- 2024: 40.7/87.8 = 46.3%
Three-point percentage:
- 2023: 11.0/31.7 = 34.8%
- 2024: 13.0/36.6 = 35.5%
Free-throw percentage:
- 2023: 17.0/21.7 = 78.5%
- 2024: 16.1/21.2 = 76.0%
Assists per game:
- 2023: 25.5
- 2024: 25.4
Turnovers per game:
- 2023: 15.2
- 2024: 16.4
Analysis: I don’t think any of this is surprising to me. It seems like the biggest strides Detroit has made since last year has come on the defensive end. It’s frustrating to see the turnovers increase, as that’s the Pistons’ number one issue offensively and was likely the same last year among a myriad of critical issues.
The biggest difference I see is the number of three-point attempts has grown by five per game, leading to two more made threes than last year. Despite having the same field goal efficiency as Monty’s team, you can see how shooting more threes has been the difference in increasing their points per game – more threes, JBB!
Defense
Opponents’ points per game:
- 2023: 119.0
- 2024: 111.7
Opponents’ field-goal percentage:
- 2023: 43.6/89.0 = 49.0%
- 2024: 41.0/89.9 = 45.7%
Opponents’ three-point percentage:
- 2023: 12.1/32.7 = 37.0%
- 2024: 13.6/37.0 = 36.7%
Opponents’ free throw percentage:
- 2023: 19.6/24.5 = 80.0%
- 2024: 16.0/20.6 = 77.8%
Rebounds per game:
- 2023: 43.3 (ORB: 10.5 and DRB: 32.8)
- 2024: 46.4 (ORB: 11.5 and DRB: 34.9)
Steals per game:
- 2023: 6.5
- 2024: 5.9
Blocks per game:
- 2023: 4.7
- 2024: 5.5
Analysis: Yeah – this is where we see some big differences. It’s clear Detroit is a much better defensive team this year. The Pistons are ranked 8th in opponent field goal percentage and 11th in opponent points per game – last year’s team was ranked 24th and 26th, respectively. Since they’re forcing more misses, they’re grabbing more rebounds as well.
One thing I find interesting is that opponent threes per game have increased by more than four, and opponents are taking four fewer free throws per game as a result. Is this due to JBB’s drop scheme of defending the rim? Is this a continuation of the increase in three-point shooting in the NBA?
There’s not one perfect answer, but one thing is clear: JBB is getting the most out of this team on the defensive end. We’ve seen plenty of rough stretches from the young guys, and veteran additions Malik Beasley and THJ are not exactly known for their perimeter defense – heck, this team just got Ausar Thompson back! Could they show even more improvement on this end as the season goes on?
Individual Stats
*Stats are listed as points/rebounds/assists/steals/blocks on FG%/3PT%/FT%
Cade Cunningham
- 2023: 22.7/4.3/7.5/0.9/0.4 on 45%/36%/87%
- 2024: 23.5/7.2/9.0/0.9/0.8 on 44%/38%/81%
Analysis: Cade has increased his points, rebounds, assists, and blocks while shooting 38% from three on 6+ attempts per game. He’s only shooting 4.3 free throws per game, so a few more trips to the line (c’mon, refs) will take his game and efficiency to the next level. He is that dude.
Jaden Ivey
- 2023: 15.4/3.4/3.8/0.7/0.5 on 43%/34%/75%
- 2024: 18.6/4.5/4.3/1.0/0.5 on 46%/38%/72%
Analysis: Ivey has also increased his points, rebounds, assists, and steals while improving both his field goal and three-point percentages. JBB has consistently put Ivey in positions to succeed as he allows him to play to his strengths, and Jaden is thriving as a result. I would argue that JI is the Pistons’ most improved player so far.
Jalen Duren
- 2023: 13.8/11.6/2.4/0.5/0.8 on 62%/0%/79%
- 2024: 9.1/10.1/2.5/0.3/1.4 on 69%/0%/58%
Analysis: With Beef Stew’s transition to playing center full-time, we’ve seen a bit of a drop in production out of JD, but nothing overly concerning to me. Currently, Duren and Stew are splitting the minutes at the center position at roughly 55/45. Duren has been pulled for Stew in certain defensive situations, and JD’s defense has been his biggest weakness. We’ve seen some stronger games from him recently, and hopefully, getting him more involved on offense leads to giving more energy on defense. But with some roster consolidation coming at some point, I can’t help but think Jalen is the odd man out.
Isaiah Stewart
- 2023: 10.9/6.6/1.6/0.4/0.8 on 49%/38%/75%
- 2024: 6.3/6.5/2.0/0.5/1.4 on 56%/24%/86%
Analysis: The role of Isaiah Stewart this year has been polarizing to me. We’re getting everything we wanted regarding his defense and playing the center position, but we’ve gone completely away from using him as a three-point shooter. He’s shooting much worse than Duren, as he plays as an inside center, and his three-point attempts are lower than what he averaged as a rookie. With Ausar Thompson back in the lineup, can we please start using Ausar as the roller and Stew as the spot-up shooter?
Marcus Sasser
- 2023: 8.3/1.8/3.3/0.6/0.2 on 43%/38%/88%
- 2024: 5.9/1.2/1.4/0.5/0.2 on 56%/39%/100%
Analysis: Sasser has seen inconsistent minutes so far this season and is the 10th or 11th man in a 9-man rotation. As an undersized two-guard on a team featuring Ivey, Beasley, and THJ, there’s no room for Sass. He has given Detroit some good minutes, specifically as a nice safety valve for Cade or Ivey when the offense has struggled with secondary creation. I think we’re officially done with the PG experiment, but there’s still a lot to like about Sass’ efficiency – I just wish he was a few inches taller.
Ausar Thompson
- 2023: 8.8/6.4/1.9/1.1/0.9 on 48%/19%/60%
- 2024: 4.3/2.7/4.0/0.7/0.0 on 22%/29%/50%
Analysis: Ausar’s 2024 stats are a sample size of three games, so really, this means nothing – but how about that 29% from three?!
In reality, the only thing I want to take away from this is Ausar’s four assists per game. I think JBB is using Ausar as the bench playmaker as he plays his short stints to get back into game shape, and I’m all for it. Get him as many reps as possible on-ball as the bench creator so he’s ready when he finally takes THJ’s spot in the starting lineup.
While the core of the team is what matters going forward, we also shouldn’t discount what the tertiary veteran players have been able to provide, especially compared to last year’s veterans. You’d like to see much better perimeter shooting from vets like Tim Hardaway Jr and Tobias Harris (35% and 31% on the season, respectively). If they were hitting more shots consistently, the team would likely have been able to turn a few losses into a few wins.
More importantly, though, is that while nobody would confuse Hardaway, Harris, and Malik Beasley as all-world defenders, they have been marked improvements over what the team was able to get from Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, and Joe Harris at this point last season.
What say you, Pistons fans? What similarities or differences have you noticed between the last two seasons?