The Pistons added several 3-point shooting veterans but the offense is still stumbling
When Trajan Langdon took over as the new president of the Detroit Pistons , his priorities were clear. Add players who could shoot. Add players who you could rely on to play. For a team that ranked 24th in offense and among the league’s leaders in missed games, it all made perfect sense.
Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley were added in free agency while the Pistons made a low-cost trade for Tim Hardaway. Harris and Hardaway have started every game they have appeared in, and Beasley is the first player off the bench and a spot starter in Detroit.
Has it translated into improved shooting? Yeah, kinda. Last year through 24, the Pistons were mired in their NBA-record losing streak and ranked 29th in 3-point shooting at 33.8%. This year, the Pistons have risen 13 spots and sit at 16th and a solidly mediocre 36.7%.
Detroit’s three new additions rank in the top five on the team in 3-point attempts, with Beasley leading the way at a robust 8.9 per game and Harris trailing in fifth at 4.5 per contest.
Beasley leads all regular players, hitting 39% from deep, but Hardaway Jr. and Harris only rank seventh and eighth on the team, respectively, at 35.8% and 34.6% shooting. The biggest risers on the team also happen to be the franchise’s two most important players — Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
Cunningham is second on the team with 6.4 attempts and is hitting at a 37.8% clip. Ivey is shooting 4.9 per game and hitting 38.1%. At this point in the season last year, the duo were hitting just 32% and 29%, respectively.
It’s hard to pinpoint any specific reason for the rise, but it is likely some combination of natural progression, tutelage from renowned shooting coach Fred Vinson, and, yes, the addition of the veterans. While Hardaway Jr. and Harris are not lethal from 3-point range, they are being guarded as the career shooters they are, and that is opening up Detroit’s offense in ways that benefit everyone, most especially Cade and Jaden. Their shots also look cleaner, and I’m sure Vinson has at least a little to do with that.
The Pistons have an interesting combination of factors in play. Their vets are scuffling a bit, they have a completely non-shooting center, a backup center who can shoot but never does, and are still carving out minutes for two of the biggest non-shooting young wings in the league in Ron Holland Jr. and Ausar Thompson. Despite all that, they rank 16th in 3-point shooting and attempt rate.
If Hardaway Jr. and Harris can nudge their shooting up to their career averages and the young players can keep the improved marks, it will be interesting to see what Detroit’s offense is capable of (If they want to also eliminate some of their dumbest turnovers, that would be great too).