Detroit Pistons: Wayne Ellington is not your basic shooter

There’s always been an admirable consistency to Wayne Ellington’s shooting prowess. His efficiency was never high enough to warrant a spot among the perimeter elites of the modern era, only once eclipsing the 40-percent mark. But with just a single season below 35 percent, Ellington never failed to earn respect when he caught the ball along the 3-point line.

Yet somehow, in his 12th season at 33 years old, Ellington is taking his 3-point prowess to another level, pacing the league in percentage at a career-high 53.2 percent clip on over 6.0 attempts per game. And the Detroit Pistons couldn’t be happier with the one-year, $2.5 million investment they made to benefit from a hot start with no signs of slowing down.

Though always a potent 3-point sniper, Wayne Ellington’s shooting has reached new heights and the Detroit Pistons are reaping the benefits.

The 2020-21 season isn’t Ellington’s first run in Detroit. After the Phoenix Suns waived him following a trade from Miami in February of 2019, he signed with the Pistons and appeared in 28 games to finish out the season, averaging 12.0 points in just over 27 minutes a night.

It’s not a coincidence that stretched over an entire season, those 12.0 points per game would’ve represented Ellington’s career-high before the present day, where he’s putting up 13.4 points per game.

Pistons head coach Dwane Casey understands the good a shooter like Ellington can bring beyond simple spot-ups and has put those abilities to good use, running the two-guard through the same dribble handoffs that have risen Duncan Robinson to notoriety.

22.2 percent of Ellington’s plays this season are handoffs, the second-highest frequency in the league. He places in the 86th percentile, highest among those in the top-10 in frequency.

Like Robinson taking passes from Bam Adebayo, it helps that Ellington plays with two of the league’s best passing big men in Blake Griffin and Mason Plumlee, both averaging more than 3.0 assists per game. But the burden still falls primarily on Ellington to manipulate the defender’s momentum just enough to get an open look, as he did to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the play below.

To be clear, Ellington could spend his days spotting up along the arc. He ranks in the 96th percentile in that category. But a spot-up shooter is only as impactful as the teammates who create open looks and Detroit doesn’t have many who can consistently draw a second defender.

Casey has found ways to maneuver around those roster deficiencies regardless. The handoffs are part of that creative equation, but with Griffin embracing the former in “point forward” at an alarming rate, there have also been plenty of inverted pick-and-pops with Ellington setting a screen before flaring out to the 3-point line.

Ellington was 6-of-9 on threes in the 107-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Just one came off a standstill, the other five followed some type of movement. He was tied for the team-high in plus/minus at plus-24 in hist 28 minutes. He’s No. 1 on the Pistons this season at plus-42, coming in 13 points ahead of second-place Jerami Grant in less than half the total minutes.

Calling Ellington a shooter wouldn’t be an incorrect categorization of his abilities. That’s the label that follows someone who’s knocked down 38.3 over their career 3-point attempts, and you could do a lot worse. But stopping there would completely overlook the stylistic complexities that precede the flick of the wrist.

His job description doesn’t require him to simply catch and fire. Ellington has to generate open looks for himself, though he doesn’t have the luxury of any more than a single dribble to help him do so. And in a world where those with the ball receive all the acclaim, few understand the true value that brings to the court.

Detroit has a firm grasp of that importance. That’s why they sought to bring Ellington back this past offseason, even if it meant stripping quality minutes away from young wings like Josh Jackson and Svi Mykhailiuk.

One by one, opponents are getting as strong a taste as they ever have as well.