There are two major differences in the current Pistons’ offense when compared to the 25th ranked version from last year.
First, Stan Van Gundy removed almost all empty Andre Drummond post touches and replaced them with efficient elbow hand-offs for Avery Bradley with a touch of Tobias Harris.
Second—and maybe the most obvious—the Pistons are connecting on their jump shots, which includes 38 percent from beyond the arc as a team. It’s amazing what making shots can do for the optics on an offense.
Make no mistake, for all the celebrations of the new motion-based offense, the pick-and-roll remains the staple play and while it might not get direct credit, the derived offense from the PNR is making all the difference in the world.