Can new additions provide shooting Detroit Pistons need in 2019-20?

Storyline 1: Can Blake Griffin reach another level?

After four injury-interrupted seasons, Griffin’s voyage back to ranking among the elite performers in the league was a welcome sight for Pistons fans. Having given up a host of future draft picks and emerging forward Tobias Harris to acquire his services, Griffin’s first full season as a Piston more than justified the move.

Playing in 75 games, his most since the 2013-14 season, Griffin averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists while playing 35 minutes per game. Notably, this was the first time since the 2014-15 season in which Griffin was named an All-Star or selected to an All-NBA team. However, this version of Griffin is distinctly different from the one that appeared in five All-Star games as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Now 30, Griffin does not possess the mind-blowing athleticism he exhibited in his early years, with a combination of age and wear-and-tear taking a toll on his body. As a result, Griffin has changed his game, with less ferocious dunks and far more perimeter shots. For example, the last time he was an All-Star in a Clippers’ jersey, Griffin averaged just 0.4 attempts per game from 3-point range. Last season, he averaged 7.0 attempts per game while converting at a respectable 36.2 percent.

Another measurement of just how perimeter-orientated Griffin has become is how he has been used on offense.

Whereas he averaged just 2.2 drives per game in 2014-15 game, Griffin ramped this up to 8.0 per game last season, by far the highest number of his career. Therefore in moving forward, the question is: can he still get better?

At this stage, there are two areas in which Griffin excels in as it pertains to finishing at the offensive end: close to the basket and from beyond the arc.

In between, however, is a different story. Last season from 5-19 feet from the rim, Griffin converted at a 29.8 percent clip. When you consider that this accounted for just under 20 percent of his total field goal attempts, refining this aspect of his game is certainly one improvement that can be made.

Another area in which Griffin could take his game to another level is his efficiency in isolation possessions. Ranking 15th in the league with 3.2 isolation possessions per game, Griffin converted just 0.97 points per possession and shot at just a 38.7 percent clip on such possessions. Given his increasing perimeter role, improving his efficiency in this area could be a decisive difference in rounding out his overall game.