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Detroit Pistons: Upend Celtics, put the East on alert

By Jonathan Macri

DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 10: Reggie Jackson #1 of the Detroit Pistons reacts reacts to a call late in the game next to Luke Babbitt #8 of the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena on November 10, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 111-104. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 10: Reggie Jackson #1 of the Detroit Pistons reacts reacts to a call late in the game next to Luke Babbitt #8 of the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena on November 10, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 111-104. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 10: Reggie Jackson #1 of the Detroit Pistons reacts reacts to a call late in the game next to Luke Babbitt #8 of the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena on November 10, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 111-104. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 10: Reggie Jackson #1 of the Detroit Pistons reacts reacts to a call late in the game next to Luke Babbitt #8 of the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena on November 10, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 111-104. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Reg-gie, Reg-gie, Reg-gie…

Last year, according to ESPN’s real plus minus stats, Jackson finished 70th out of 79 qualifying point guards. That’s…not great. This year, he’s 12th, one spot behind perennial All-Star John Wall. That’s good.

Offensively, the team is scoring just over six points more per 100 possessions with Jackson on the court, as opposed to last year when that number was a -2.5. Meanwhile, last year’s version of the Pistons scored 3 more points per 100 possessions with Ish Smith running the show. Clearly something has changed.

If the difference truly is Jackson’s health, as the narrative has been, how has that affected his game? His counting stats don’t give us the answer, as his per-36 minute averages are basically the same as they’ve always been. He’s shooting it better (45/38/91 compared to 42/36/87 last season), but that still doesn’t fully explain the discrepancy.

Part of the answer may be simple shot selection.

Last year, 16 percent of Jackson’s shots were long 2’s, whereas this season that number is down to 9%, according to BasketballReference.com. He’s taking a career low 17 percent of shots at the rim, down from 23 percent last season, but he’s also taking a career high 30 percent of shots from 3-10 feet and is shooting 45 percent on those – his best as a Piston by far.

More importantly, Jackson seems to be getting back to his bread and butter: the pick and roll. Jackson joins Damian Lillard and Kemba Walkers as the only players with eight or more possessions a night as the pick and roll ball-handler who are also averaging at least one point per possession on such plays.

There may be some regression coming. Jackson is averaging 1.4 points per possession on spot ups, which puts him in the top 5% of all players – something that doesn’t seem sustainable. He’s also shooting nearly 60% on shots from 10-16 feet, which is incredibly high. For the most part though, Jackson’s offensive resurgence seems legit.

On the other end, while he’s still not making anyone’s All-Defense ballot, Jackson isn’t the complete sieve he was last season when the team gave up over 110 points per 100 possessions with him on the court.

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