Detroit Pistons: The Need For Kyle Singler To Step Up

There’s been a lot of things about the Detroit Pistons’ start to the season that haven’t quite lived up to expectations. For the most part, these can be put down as part of the learning process as Detroit tries to blend in with a new coach and some new players, but there are others who really should be performing much better. Let’s take third year swingman and former second round draft pick, Kyle Singler, as an example of this.

Singler is a player who has frequently overperformed as a part of the dysfunctional Pistons’ squads of the last two years. So much so, that during his first two seasons in the league, the Oregon native started over 109 games for Detroit.

With the arrival of Stan Van Gundy as new head coach this summer, it seemed like an appointment tailor-made to help progress Singler’s game even further, as Van Gundy’s points of emphasis happen to be some of the 26-year-old’s strengths. Yet six games into the season, there have been no signs of that materializing at all.

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If anything, Singler appears to be struggling more than ever before. Of course it could just be a bit of a slump that he pulls himself out of sooner rather than later, but in the opening exchanges of the season, Singler’s play has been alarming enough that you can expect Pistons fans to be keeping a close eye on him.

Singler has only had a slight decrease in minutes, so the difference in his production levels can’t fully be pinned on that, but across the board his numbers are down on what he showed in his first two seasons.

Singler is a shooter, that’s what he did in his first two seasons in Detroit. On a team with a very limited number of jump shooters, he was the guy who the team felt they could find open shots for and watch him knock them down.

For his first two seasons, Singler averaged 9.2 points on 7.6 field goal attempts per night. His shooting percentages weren’t sky high, but they were efficient enough, at 43.7 percent from the field, and 36.8 from behind the three-point line.

This season, Singler is averaging just a little over five minutes less per game, coming in at around 22.5, yet his scoring has dropped off much more disproportionately. For his first six games, Singler is averaging only a meager 3.3 points a night. Although that’s not particularly pretty, it doesn’t come as a shock when you take a look at his shooting percentages. The 25-year-old is currently making only 32 percent of his field goals attempts, and 30.8 percent of those from long range.

It’s not only the former Duke Blue Devil’s shooting numbers that have dropped off either, as Singler’s rebounding has gone south too. Singler had shown himself to be an able rebounder for his size and position in his first two seasons, particularly when you consider the competition for boards there is within his own team. Having previously averaged 3.8 rebounds per game for his career, Singler has started this one out at a mark of 2.2.

This is not the time to write Singler off just yet, as it’s so early in the season still, but it should be a cause of alarm for Detroit. Detroit would much rather to see Kyle Singler kicking on than falling backwards, and in a contract year, the onus will be on him to turn it around.

Next: Detroit Pistons: Can Big Lineup Provide Winning Formula?

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