National Basketball Association

Detroit Pistons should change their offense with Jackson out

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

With the Detroit Pistons playing without Reggie Jackson for an extended amount of time, the offense should change its style.

The Detroit Pistons will be without Reggie Jackson for at least six weeks–though even that looks optimistic with Jackson choosing to rehab through platelet enrichment.

Losing Jackson is a tough blow for the Pistons. He is the team’s leading scorer and he’s also the team’s best facilitator.

The question now is how the Pistons plan to run their offense with Jackson out. Do they continue with point guard pick-and-rolls with Ish Smith and Andre Drummond, or do they look for an alternative method to run their offense?

I think Smith could fill Jackson’s role admirably, but he simply doesn’t posses the offensive skills Jackson does. Expecting the offense to maintain it’s efficiency is a bit unreasonable if the offensive system remains the same under Smith.

While I still expect to see a heavy dose of point guard pick-and-rolls, perhaps the best method to substitute Jackson’s offense is by involving some of their other starters early in offensive possessions.

Luckily for the Pistons, they have two excellent forwards who can create their own offense in Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris.

By getting the ball to either forward early in the offense–along with positions featuring Andre Drummond pick-and-rolls–the Pistons could diversify their offense enough to keep defenses on their heels while Jackson is out.

Neither forward is known for their passing ability, but if either or both are successful scoring in on-on-one situations, passing lanes should open with defenses keying in.

Losing Reggie Jackson will be tough to overcome for the Pistons, but maybe there will be some silver lining.

If the team can learn to become a more diverse offense with Jackson out, there’s a chance the team will be even better than they thought they’d be with him.