Duncan Robinson’s early run with the Detroit Pistons has been impossible to ignore. He’s sitting as the team’s second-leading scorer, putting up just under 17 points per game, and he’s doing it while launching more 3-pointers than he did last season and connecting on 41.5 percent of them.
That production has mattered beyond the box score. Robinson’s constant movement has helped create openings elsewhere, and even without much dribbling, he’s still forcing defenses to react. In that sense, his off-ball game is functioning like a form of creation, and it has helped stretch the floor for Detroit.
That all sounds great, and if Robinson keeps this level up for the entire season, the Pistons will gladly take it. But there’s a bigger question lurking underneath the strong start: if he’s the team’s main second option, that becomes a problem when the playoffs arrive.
With Tobias Harris in San Antonio, Robinson has taken on more scoring responsibility and has been a major part of Detroit’s hot start. I said early in the season that Robinson was too important to this offense to trade, unless a star guard who can shoot was coming back, and that the fans who kept tossing him into trade ideas were probably setting themselves up for disappointment.
Still, there’s a difference between filling a scoring void and being a true go-to option. Robinson is not that.
Not even close. His offense depends too much on what the players around him are doing, and he isn’t the kind of scorer you can isolate, clear out, and hand the ball to when you need a bucket.
In that way, he hasn’t really replaced what Tobias Harris gave Detroit, even if the raw scoring numbers look similar.
There’s also an argument that the Pistons’ real second option is already on the roster, just not in the starting role right now. Jalen Duren is the player Detroit is counting on to become a 20-plus-point scorer at some point this season, though he’s still very much a work in progress as a scorer.
That leaves the Pistons back at the same question they opened the season with: do they have enough offense once you get beyond Cade Cunningham?
So far, the answer has been no. Detroit’s offense has lagged behind its elite defense, and Robinson’s hot start has helped mask that imbalance. He’s been a valuable piece, but the nights when his shot hasn’t been falling have shown how much the Pistons are leaning on him.
The good news for Detroit is that its second option might already be in the building. The bad news is that if the offense still looks this thin by the trade deadline, the Pistons may have to start looking for help.
In Other News...
This Refs Pistons Pick Says Everything About That 2004 Team
Rasheed Wallace was never just another bruising big man on that 2004 Pistons team. Even years later, NBA referee Zach Zarba still points to Wallace as the toughest player to officiate, and the reason says plenty about how Detroit played and how Wallace operated inside it. He was smart, physical and always on the edge, the kind of player who could bend a games temperature without ever seeming surprised by the response.
What made Wallace such a problem for officials was not only his edge, but the way he used it. Zarba noted that Wallace would work technical fouls into his own routine as a way to fire himself up and lift the team around him, which fits a Pistons group that won with force and attitude as much as skill. Wallace, a 2004 champion and multiple-time All-Star, still owns the league record for technical fouls in a single season, a reminder of just how far that edge carried him. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Hot Start Has Fans Eyeing One Massive Backcourt Swing
Detroits 5-1 start has put the Pistons in an unfamiliar spot this early in the season, with the kind of momentum that naturally sends fans and front offices alike looking for the next move. One name now floating into the conversation is Kyrie Irving, with NBA insider Chris Mannix reporting that Detroit has interest in the veteran guard as the Mavericks weigh whether to move him for the right return.
Irving has been part of Dallas recent success since returning from an ACL injury, which only adds to the intrigue around any possible deal. For the Pistons, the appeal is obvious: a hot start can sharpen the focus on upgrading the backcourt, but a pursuit of a player with Irvings profile would also come with a steep price and plenty of moving parts still to sort through. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Suddenly Face A Real Kyrie Irving Dilemma
Kyrie Irvings strong return from an ACL injury has already put him back in the middle of leaguewide conversation, and not just because of the way he has looked on the floor. Sports Illustrateds Chris Mannix floated the idea that Irving could emerge as a major trade target during the season, with teams such as the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons mentioned as possible suitors if the opportunity ever opened up.
For Detroit, it is the kind of name that naturally gets attention because the Pistons are still looking to accelerate their rise and add proven talent to the mix. The Mavericks, meanwhile, continue to value Irvings leadership and influence, even as the speculation around his availability keeps building without any confirmation from the team that he is actually on the market. [Read more 🡒]