Detroit Pistons: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Storyline 2: How much better will the shooting be?

The Pistons will have better floor-spacing than a year ago. It is impossible for them not to, after Stan Van Gundy and general manager Jeff Bower made move after move addressing the roster’s greatest deficiency. Bradley (39.0 percent), Galloway (39.0 percent) and Tolliver (39.1 percent) all shot the 3-ball extremely well last season, and Kennard looked comfortable from NBA range in NBA Summer League.

The question is whether Detroit will experience a marginal bump from the 33.0 percent it shot from deep last year (28th in the NBA), or a significant one.

Detroit Pistons

For all of the shooters it added, only Bradley figures to start. The rest of the lineup is made up of two average (Jackson, Harris) and one below-average (Johnson or Leuer) 3-point threats, along with a complete non-shooter in Drummond.

Bradley is replacing Caldwell-Pope, who was the best shooter in last year’s lineup. Bradley is better, but he is not a geometry changer. In fact, it is possible that Caldwell-Pope’s willingness to fire away, along with his somewhat underserved reputation as a knockdown guy makes him just as impactful a floor-spacer as Bradley.

The difference will be felt more on Detroit’s bench with Tolliver, Galloway and Kennard. For Van Gundy to maximize this, however, he will need to mix those guys in with the starters as much as possible. A strong shooting bench can raise a team’s overall 3-point percentage, but that is not worth much if the unit is deficient in other areas.

Play those floor-spacers with more skilled starters such as Jackson, Harris and Drummond, and the difference between a 37 percent and 33 percent shooter suddenly goes beyond hitting eight more 3-pointers over the course of a season.

Detroit should move towards the low 20s or high teens in their rank for 3-point percentage. But it is largely up to Van Gundy’s rotations whether the offense, ranked No. 25 last year, comes along for the ride.