Finding Spacing In The Detroit Pistons Offense
Consistent half court offense has been hard to come by this season for the Detroit Pistons. After a 2015–16 season that saw the Pistons reach 15th in the league in offensive rating, the Pistons have dropped to 23rd in the league this season as a result of less efficient shooting, fewer offensive rebounds, and fewer trips to the free throw line.
Perhaps the largest factor in the Pistons’ offensive struggles this season has been the ongoing injury issues of starting point guard Reggie Jackson. Jackson suffered a major knee injury this past summer and has been noticeably less explosive in the 47 games since his return. For the Pistons, who relied heavily on Jackson running the pick-and-roll with Andre Drummond, Jackson’s injury has been particularly detrimental. The pick-and-roll has been less effective this year, and the Pistons have produced a mere 102.7 offensive rating with Jackson on the floor, down three full points from a year ago.
The ineffectiveness of the Jackson/Drummond pick-and-roll is largely a product of Jackson’s inability to get deep into the paint this season. When he gets high screens, Jackson makes less attempts to turn the corner and instead has made a habit of pulling up for more three-pointers and long mid-range shots. Where last season Jackson averaged a drive every 2.9 minutes, this year he’s driving only once every 4.1 minutes.
When he is able to turn the corner, he often cuts his drive short and shoots floaters off awkward footwork — he’s already taken 5 more driving floaters than he did last season despite playing 32 fewer games to this point.
The result has been devastating for the Pistons’ offense. Stan Van Gundy’s offense relies on a primary ball handler who can consistently get to the rim and cause defenses to help off perimeter shooters. Because Jackson has not been a huge threat to get to the rim, perimeter defenders have stayed home on the Pistons shooters. Passing lanes have shrunk and the Pistons’ three-point attempts have been more closely defended.
Pistons shooters getting less precise passes and being defended more closely has exacerbated the team’s already poor shooting. With sufficient spacing and a healthy Reggie Jackson last season, the Pistons shot 34.5% from three, good for 21st in the league. With that spacing suddenly gone, the Pistons have plummeted to 27th, making only 33.1% of their three-point attempts.
Because of Jackson’s injury, backup point guard Ish Smith has seen more minutes than expected this season. He filled in as the starter when Jackson missed the early part of the season, and he’s seen additional minutes, particularly late in games, when Jackson has struggled to find a rhythm. Smith has embraced that opportunity and has, quite literally, run with it.
Smith, one of the fastest players in the league, is better able to push the tempo and get to the rim than an ailing Reggie Jackson. Smith has more drives on a per minute basis than Jackson this year, and the Pistons’ spacing with him on the floor has been much better as a result. The Pistons have actually shot better from three this season with Smith on the floor, despite the fact that Jackson has been the second-best three point shooter on the team.
Smith’s ability to get to the rim has been especially valuable when he’s played with the starters this season. Among regularly used Pistons lineups, the combination of Smith, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris, and Andre Drummond has been by far the most successful offensively, posting a 109.2 offensive rating over a 411 minute sample size. That lineup’s offensive rating is 3.9 points better than any other Pistons lineup which has seen over 50 minutes on the floor during the 2016–17 season.
Over the past 15 games, the Ish Smith-led starters have been even more successful offensively, scoring 116.8 points per 100 possessions. Perhaps the biggest key to that lineup has been how efficiently they have shot the ball. They have produced an effective field goal percentage of 58.5% over that stretch, an efficiency nearly 3 full percentage points better than the Golden State Warriors have produced this season.
That effective field goal percentage is sure to regress over a larger sample size, but it still has the potential to be a very efficient shooting lineup long-term. Over the entire season, the Smith-led starters have an effective field goal percentage of 53.7%, which would be good enough for second in the entire league this season.
While that lineup has been extremely successful offensively, it’s probably not because those five players fit so perfectly together. It’s more that, unlike many of Detroit’s lineups, the Smith-led starters have the components of an offense that can properly space the floor. Smith is always a threat to get to the rim. Caldwell-Pope is an efficient, high-volume three-point shooter, and easily the team’s most dangerous shooting threat. Both forwards are willing shooters who are effective enough to make defenses pay if they help off them too much.
The proof is in the three-man lineup numbers. Of the ten most common three-man lineups for the Pistons, the two best offensive lineups are Smith/Caldwell-Pope/Harris and Smith/Caldwell-Pope/Morris. The Smith-led starters are the most efficient five-man version of those lineups, but as long as Smith, Caldwell-Pope, and either Harris or Morris are on the floor, good things happen for the Pistons offensively.
The Smith, Caldwell-Pope, and Morris/Harris lineups have been especially effective in the last few weeks.
Against Philadelphia, Smith pushed the tempo following an offensive rebound and his threat driving to the rim (along with Drummond beating his man down the floor) drew Dario Saric off Marcus Morris to give Morris just a little extra time to line up and knock down an in-rhythm, catch-and-shoot three pointer.
Later in the game, Smith’s quick move in the half court pick-and-roll caused the Sixers defense to collapse, resulting in an easy pass to Harris for a wide open three.
Against Portland, the same play with a slightly different lineup led to the same result — this time it was Morris left wide open on the wing.
In overtime against Charlotte, Morris got a wide open corner three after his defender got sucked all the way into the paint while keeping an eye on Ish Smith penetrating following a pick-and-roll.
In regulation, the Pistons showed the benefits of the properly spaced floor don’t just come in the form of open threes. This time, the threat of Smith driving drew both Hornets defenders in the pick-and-roll, leading to an open lane for Harris to drive and dunk in a close game.
The effect Smith brings in being a real threat to get to the rim is readily apparent. That effect is also very important for the Pistons to recognize as they figure out exactly what the future holds for the young team.
That is not to say that Ish Smith should be the starting point guard long-term. Rather, the Pistons, in Stan Van Gundy’s scheme, should be placing huge emphasis on having a primary ball handler who can consistently get to the rim. That may mean moving on from Reggie Jackson if he can’t re-gain his former explosiveness. It may mean working more on developing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as that primary ball handler.
It’s Stan Van Gundy’s job to figure out what exactly the solution is. It may take another offseason to allow Jackson to rest and see how his knee responds next year. But, the Pistons can at least identify the problem. Figuring out who the primary ball handler is going to be is the next step. And it is perhaps the most critical step in determining how successful this young Pistons team will be in the future.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com and are current through Thursday, March 16.
