ORLANDO – Dwane Casey probably could rattle off a score of reasons why the Pistons will awake on New Year’s morning with a losing record, but the one he’d probably like to change most is one he likely didn’t imagine would be an issue.
Three-point shooting.
Casey’s emphasis on producing 3-point shots has taken hold in that the Pistons are, indeed, shooting them at a franchise-record rate. At their current clip of 33.7 attempts a game, the Pistons will pass last season’s record of 2,373 attempts with 12 games to spare.
On the other hand, they’re dead last in accuracy, tied with Oklahoma City at 32.4 percent. What would their 16-18 record be if they were shooting the league average of 35.2 percent and averaging another 2.8 points a game – or if they were shooting at last year’s 37.3 clip and averaging another 4.9 a game?
Probably 18-16 or better in the first scenario – and probably 20-14 or better in the second.
Just as 3-point shooting alone doesn’t encompass all their foibles, getting Luke Kennard right won’t turn the ship 180 degrees. But it will be a significant step in the right direction – and over the first two games of their current road trip Kennard has emerged as a ray of hope for the Pistons.
He’s averaged 15 points in 22 minutes a game, making 4 of 9 3-point shots even though one of his misses in Sunday’s 16-point performance was a deep, rushed attempt when Kennard got caught at the end of the shot clock through no fault of his own. Kennard is 12 of 19 overall, using his cutting and unique change-of-pace dribble to produce the 2-point shots favorable to Casey’s “shot spectrum,” as well.
What would that level of Kennard mean to Casey’s second unit?
“Oh, that means a lot,” Reggie Bullock said after the Pistons lost to Orlando on Evan Fournier’s buzzer beater on Sunday. “I see a clone of myself out there. Any time you see a look, he’s letting it go. Him and (Langston Galloway), that’s what we do. We’ve just got to be consistent and continue to knock down shots, space the floor for our teammates that are beasts down low.”
Between Kennard’s shoulder injury that cost him 16 games and Bullock’s two incidents of ankle sprains that cost him seven and most of two others, the Pistons have rarely – never? – had both of their best shooters at their peak yet. Maybe that changed on Friday, when one game after not getting off the bench Kennard scored 14 at Indiana. Kennard’s coaches and teammates understand his value is tied to his offensive contributions – not just his shooting, for Kennard is also an adept playmaker off the dribble – and that for it to be maximized he needs to be more than a passive participant.
Passing up open shots and getting caught in no-man’s land with one or two counterproductive dribbles marked Kennard’s play in six games following a career-high 28 points he scored at Philadelphia on Dec. 10. After sitting out Wednesday’s win over Washington, that was foremost on his mind to start the road trip.
“I’ve watched a lot of film over the past few games and that’s the main thing I’ve been focusing on – not being ready to shoot,” he said. “Taking shots that I should be taking that I haven’t before. That’s been my focus and just being aggressive, having that killer mentality in me.”
Some of that film Kennard’s watched has been of Bullock, who puts in the work to get open.
“I’m learning a lot from Reggie this year,” he said. “I watch film on him. He might not know that, but I watched film on him today – the shots he’s taking – and that’s kind of what the coaches want me to do, as well. Watching film on him has allowed me to keep that in the back of my head – be ready to shoot.”
Casey, after apologizing to Pistons fans for the loss at Indiana, was encouraged by a number of things despite Sunday’s loss, Kennard high on that list.
“That was a big-time positive,” he said. “Luke’s playing aggressive, playing free. That’s what we need from him.”