The winless Detroit Pistons have already experienced their fair share of mishaps through four games. Tobias Harris and Simone Fontecchio need to shoot better from deep, Cade Cunningham has to get his turnovers under control, and most players need to show improvement on the defensive end.
One of the most head-scratching concepts this season is head coach JB Bickerstaff’s decision to use Isaiah Stewart as an inside, pick-and-roll center. Stew is currently averaging 2.5 points per game – the lowest among the nine main players in the rotation. He’s also the only one not averaging double-digit points per 36 minutes. After attempting four threes per game the last two seasons, he has shot one attempt through the first four games. All this to say – why is JB Bickerstaff using Isaiah Stewart this way?
I have five different clips to share – three for Detroit and two for Miami. The first is a possession at the end of the first quarter, where Stew stood five feet from the basket for the entire possession. When he does this, it feels like he’s an extra defender on the court clogging up the lane:
It seems like he doesn’t ever look to pop after setting screens, and I wonder if this is something Bickerstaff is asking of him. Unfortunately, his teammates don’t look for him very often, and the majority of the time, he’s running from an open spot on the court to one contested in the lane – why not settle on the three-point line when nobody’s there to guard you?
Even when his teammates DO pass to him on the roll, he’s clearly not comfortable enough to be a rim-running big with the ball in his hands:
I hope when Detroit’s coaching staff watches film on the game against Miami, they’re noticing how other teams are using their stretch fives against them – there’s no reason why Stew can’t be used in the exact same way the Heat used Thomas Bryant last night:
This is the beauty in a stretch five – there is nothing more valuable to that role than standing behind the three-point line with your hands ready. Let your teammates do the hard work for you, so all you have to do is shoot open threes.
What say you, DBB? Am I wrong in my assessment of JBB’s misuse of Isaiah Stewart?