The Detroit Pistons have done a masterful job of creating transition opportunities for themselves via gritty defense. But where they have lacked as of late is being able to create opportunities for themselves in half court situations. The acquisition of Dennis Shroeder at the deadline has paid major dividends in stabilizing the offense, and providing consistency along with Cade Cunningham. But it appears that Detroit is still missing an impactful player who can go get a bucket when need be.

Throughout most of the year the Pistons have depended on Veteran guard Malik Beasley to provide a necessary punch off the bench, by way of outside shooting. Although he is currently second in the league with  272 3pt shots made. He has gone on a bit of a slump over the last month. Starters Tim Hardaway and Ausar Thompson have have come up big at times offensively, but overall they have been mediocre in that aspect. Simone Fontecchio shot a dazzling 43% from 3 as a Piston last year, but his efficiency has fallen off a cliff, managing only 40% from the field, and 34% from 3.

The good news is the team appears to be bouncing back nicely after a few shaky shooting performances over the last week or so. First, in the 46 point victory over the Pelicans, highlighted by a 23 point contribution by Fontecchio, where he went 9/10 from the field and 5/5 from beyond the arc. The Pistons would follow up this shellacking with a dramatic buzzer beater victory on ESPN versus the Miami Heat in South Beach. Malik Beasley was able to knock down some timely threes throughout the game, getting back into elite marksmen mode shooting 5 of 10 from downtown. The Pistons will need to keep up this pace, if they hope to make a strong push to higher standings in the Conference, and beyond that in the Playoffs.

Simone Fontecchio tonight:

23 PTS
7 REB
9/10 FG
5-5 3PT

Is Tek-19 back??#DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/IyT2k3E85a

— Caleb Czarnik (@calebczarnik) March 18, 2025