The Detroit Pistons could serve to improve from the charity stripe
In the early stages of the preseason, the Detroit Pistons are sitting at .500 after two games, and there are several signs of encouragement for the ensuing 2025-26 regular season. After reaching the playoffs last year, the Pistons have steep ambitions for a repeat postseason appearance.
In pursuit of that goal, the Pistons figure to rely on a steady dose of defensive tenacity, a mixture of lineups and a penchant for hopping on the fast break– this much has become evident, even through just two preseason games.
But if there could be a weakness in the Pistons’ current makeup, it may reveal itself at the charity stripe. So far, Detroit is yet to shoot above 70% from the line in the preseason, and Ausar Thompson in particular struggled against the Bucks with a 3-for-8 effort last night.
In Detroit’s preseason opener on Monday against the Grizzlies, the Pistons went 8/29 for a 62.1% rate on free throws. In particular, forward Tolu Smith went 3/7 and rookie guard Chaz Lanier missed both of his free throw attempts as well. Then against Milwaukee last night, the Pistons went 23/33 for a 69.7% clip with a 3-for-8 Ausar Thompson performance in the mix.
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Last season, the Pistons were a mediocre free throw shooting team, ranking 20th in the NBA with a 77.4% hit-rate, a mark that far exceeds Detroit’s output from the charity stripe this preseason.
In terms of how the Pistons will address this potential problem before it costs the team wins during the regular season, Detroit assistant coach Fred Vinson spoke about the work he’s been doing with Thompson specifically to work on his shooting form.
“I think the main thing for him as he's developing as a complete player,” Vinson said on 97.1 The Ticket. “From a shooting perspective, his mid range shot for sure has gotten better, and his hand placement on the ball and the things it takes for him to be successful in the mid-range– that's one phase for him, right? We want to try to get that shot at the free throw line looking good. So now, because the free throw line is the most control you were having comes to shooting because you're in a static position, you control everything that goes on. You're in complete control. So, my focus is, okay, let's get better at the free throw line first. Let's make a jump there, and those same mechanics that you're using at the free throw line now, they will apply to you shooting catch-and-shoot threes and all that kind of stuff where you’re moving because you're jumping and etcetera, but it's still a little more static in terms of just catch and shoot. And so that's been the progression at the free throw line.”
Based on that report, it is evident that the Pistons are working on raising Thompson’s free throw percentage and molding him into a more consistent shooter from the line, and that might be a pragmatic approach to a Detroit team that is losing the shooting talent of Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. over the offseason.
The next preseason game for the Pistons will come on Tuesday, Oct. 14 against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 pm on the road.
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