The Pistons spent last season finding out how thin the margin gets when the game tightens up. In the playoffs, that problem showed up in plain view: too much of the late-clock burden fell on Cade Cunningham, and Detroit didn’t have enough shooting around him to make defenses pay.
That’s the part the Pistons have been trying to fix.
In clutch time - the last five minutes of a close game - Detroit’s offense leaned heavily on Cunningham, and often only Cunningham. It worked well enough through most of the regular season, but the playoffs exposed the issue.
The Pistons went 4-4 in clutch-time playoff games, shot 37.5 percent from the field and 31 percent from 3-point range. That 31 percent was actually an improvement over what they did in the regular season, when they hit just 21.9 percent of their clutch-time threes.
The comparison to the Knicks is hard to ignore. Detroit and New York posted similar clutch-time records in the regular season, with the Pistons playing eight more such games and finishing with a slightly better win percentage. But the Knicks were 6-3 in the playoffs in close games, and the separator was clear: they made 43 percent of their clutch-time 3-point attempts on the same number of tries per game as Detroit.
That matters because the late-game math changes fast. When ball handlers like Cunningham or Jalen Brunson attack late, defenses collapse into the paint and force the ball out.
If the surrounding shooters can punish that help, the offense stays alive. If they can’t, the defense can keep loading up.
Cunningham did his part in the playoffs, knocking down 50 percent of his clutch-time 3-pointers. The problem was that the rest of the group didn’t give him enough help, and he was basically the only one taking those shots.
That should look different next season.
Detroit has added Isaiah Joe, John Collins, Taurean Prince and, hopefully, Kevin Huerter to go with Duncan Robinson. That gives the Pistons a much better chance to put multiple credible 3-point threats on the floor at the same time, something they simply didn’t have last season.
The biggest payoff could come in the corners, where Detroit was poor last season. With more shooting around Cunningham, the Pistons should be able to make it much harder for teams to trap him or send extra defenders at him late in games. When they switch to offense/defense late, they can now build lineups with Cade and three or four shooters, and that changes the whole shape of those possessions.
Trajan Langdon made moves that could matter most when the game is on the line.
In Other News...
Pistons Just Made A Risky Bet On Cade Cunningham's Supporting Cast
Detroits front office is making a clear bet on growth over comfort. By letting Tobias Harris walk and bringing in John Collins, the Pistons have chosen a different kind of supporting cast around Cade Cunningham, one designed less to preserve a familiar pecking order and more to open up touches and creation for younger pieces. It is a long-view move for a team that has already seen enough regular-season progress to believe the offense can keep climbing without leaning so heavily on one engine.
Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren are the names that matter most in that plan, because the Pistons want both to take on more responsibility and help lighten Cunninghams nightly load. The upside is obvious if those two keep developing, but the risk is just as real, since the team is counting on internal growth to solve a problem that has not been fully solved yet. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Missed Their Big Swing And Fans Know What Comes Next
The Pistons spent the offseason making a real push to land a marquee name, with Cade Cunningham involved in the recruiting effort and Detroit taking swings at several top free agents. Austin Reaves, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving were all part of the conversation, but the roster ended up unchanged in the way the front office had hoped to avoid, leaving the team to keep building around its young core.
So now the focus shifts back inside the building, where Detroit is counting on development more than splashy additions. John Collins is the notable newcomer and helps address a need in the frontcourt, but the bigger questions remain tied to Jalen Duren's restricted free agency and an extension for Ausar Thompson, the kind of business that can shape whether this next step feels like progress or just another reset. [Read more 🡒]