Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports After just 13 games, it’s not a stretch to call the Pistons season a disappointment. From injuries to key players such as Bojan Bogdanovic, to underperformance from expected stars in Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, to an ill-fitting roster that Detroit’s new coaching staff has struggled to find answers for, it’s been difficult to find too many bright spots in Motown. That’s not to say there have been none, however. Fifth-overall pick Ausar Thompson appears to be on track to being a mainstay in All-Defensive teams for the next decade, and fellow rookie Marcus Sasser has also shown flashes of absolutely explosive offensive ability with his three-point shooting and dangerous floater game off of the dribble. Of the veterans, however, one has truly stood out as having elevated his game from previous years, former second-overall pick Marvin Bagley. First, let’s get this out of the way. Bagley is one of the biggest draft misses in recent NBA history. Selected over future All-NBA players in Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Trae Young, as well as last season’s Defensive Player of the Year in Jaren Jackson Jr., as well as several other high-level starters in Mikal Bridges, Miles Bridges, Jalen Brunson and Wendell Carter Jr. (just to name a few), Bagley has stood out as a massive missed opportunity for the Kings in the 2018 draft. After a few years spent floundering in Sacramento, Pistons GM Troy Weaver snapped him up in a trade-deadline move to provide then-rookie guard Cade Cunningham with a desperately needed lob threat in the frontcourt. Despite mixed returns, Weaver handed Bagley a three-year, $37.5 million deal during the 2021 offseason. Bagley failed to live up to that contract during his first full season in Detroit. Despite being one of the highest-paid backup big men in the league, the Pistons were 3.6 points per 100 possessions better with him off the court than on it, despite the bench overall outperforming its starters in terms of net rating. His field goal percentage was only slightly above league average, driven by his 28.8% three-point shooting (fully in line with his career norms). He provided little stability on the boards and offered even less from a defensive standpoint. Simply put, Bagley’s offense, the reason he was drafted second overall and the driving factor behind the Pistons acquisition of him in 2020, just wasn’t good enough to justify everything else he failed to bring to the court. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, here’s a very bad idea for you folks at home. Take a drink every time I mention Bagley’s career highs and career lows this year. Unless you grew up on the Duff Brewery factory floor, you’re going to have a great buzz going by the end of this article. Matter of fact, you might lose all ability to comprehend the written word, because it’s been 13 games of pretty much nothing but career highs and career lows for Bagley so far (that’s two drinks by the way.) This year has been different for “Motown Marvin” than what NBA fans have come to expect. He’s averaging a career-best 27.8 points per 100 possessions, and a 9.8 assist percentage, blowing by his previous best of 5.9%. Perhaps even more impressively, He’s doing it all while shooting 59.1% from the floor, nearly 7% better than his previous career high. The ON/OFF numbers show his impact as well, Detroit actually has a net rating of +2.7 when he’s on the floor, and their defensive rating of 112.7 is third best among any Pistons player to appear in all 12 games this season. When he’s off the court, Detroit’s net rating plummets to -9.3. That’s not just because of Bagley’s offense, the defensive rating when he’s on the floor is the same as when he’s off it. So what exactly is driving this career resurgence? Ironically, Bagley doing less has led to him contributing more. He’s taking a career-low 0.4 threes per game (his previous career low was 1.5 per game) while also shooting a career-high 61.4% from two-point range. Decreasing his shot variety has been the main factor in his increased offensive efficiency, not only is Bagley taking far fewer outside shots, he’s been feasting in the low post, taking a career-high 46.2% of his shots within three feet of the rim, along with 34.4% of his shots from within 3-10 feet according to Basketball Reference. That combined 80.6% of his shots coming from within the high-post range blows by his previous high of 71.1%, which came during his second season, where he only appeared in 13 games. Perhaps even more importantly, however, is that his field goal percentage on shots within three feet of the rim is 74.4%, fully in line with his average on those shots over the past three seasons. He’s hunting for his own shot and playing within the offense more than ever as well, 70% of his two-point shots this season have been assisted, yet another career high. The matter of how and where he’s getting his shots from indicates that not only is his offense far more effective overall, but it’s also sustainable over the course of an entire NBA campaign. Putting all those numbers into plain English (after all, if you’ve been playing along you’re already 11 drinks deep,) by accepting his role as an offensive finisher instead of an offensive initiator, Bagley is providing the Pistons with exactly what they traded for, an athletic big who presents a devastating lob threat and potent interior scoring to complement Detroit’s litany of scoring guards in Cunningham, Ivey and Alec Burks. By basically cutting threes out of his shot diet in favor of either scoring at the rim or passing the ball to someone else, he’s driven his adjusted field goal percentage to over 25% better than the league average on the season. Overall, Bagley’s True Shooting percentage of 66.3% is a full 10% better than his career average and good for 17th best in the entire NBA. The 92% he’s shooting from the free-throw line might not be sustainable, but everything else is. Most former high draft picks who don’t quite pan out struggle to accept that their role in the NBA is going to be different than what they initially expected, but Bagley deserves a lot more credit than he’s been given so far this year for recognizing his path to another NBA contract after this one depends on him playing within his role as a bench big. He’s not a star, and at 25, it’s highly unlikely he ever will be. But by having the mental fortitude to accept that reality and focusing his game solely on his strengths, Marvin Bagley has shown high character as a player and teammate. It’s paid off so far, and there’s good reason to believe this career-best year will be his career norm moving forward. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5eg9rcnTS ... ransparent
Source: https://palaceofpistons.com/2023/11/19/ ... is-career/