Pistons’ hidden inefficiency: execution out of timeouts

To make sure we’re speaking the same language, lets use Synergy’s definition: After Time Out (ATO) - The first half court possession for each team following a time out.

At .822 ATO PPP, the Pistons’ offense ranks 30th. As a reminder, there are 30 professional basketball teams in the NBA.

With 870 ATO offensive possessions to date, that’s healthy chunk of ineptitude.

Does it mean anything?

Well, maybe.

The top five teams in regards to ATO PPP are as follows: Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavilers and the Indiana Pacers. Or a collective winning percentage of 67.1.

The bottom five are: Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons. Or a collective winning percentage of 43.4.

Big difference.

The deadball issues don’t stop there, though.

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The Pistons rank 29th in defending sideline out of bounds possessions:

And again:

And 23rd in defending baseline out of bounds possessions:

Or this:

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It’s not solely a SVG thing. His Orlando teams were all over the map - as high as third, as low as 28th - in regards to team ranks after deadball situations. It is, however, a Stan Van Gundy Detroit era thing; last year garnered similar results as did his first year as Pistons’ head coach.

My question to the wonderful DBB community is: why are the Pistons so bad in these situations?

* all numbers, rankings are per Synergy