Pistons improved on major weakness in opening day win

But one team's failure to score does not guarantee the other team's ability to capitalize, and in this case, the Pistons fully took matters into their own hands on the scoreboard.

For one, Duncan Robinson did what he does, going 5-of-9 from three after averaging 41.0 percent on 7.0 attempts per game last season. But the former Miami Heat forward is only one man, and the modern NBA makes winning difficult for teams that only feature one sharpshooter on the roster.

Enter Javonte Green. After spending the entire first half on the bench, the journeyman guard went ballistic from deep, making five of his eight threes to power a 23-0 run for Detroit and ultimately swing the game in the Pistons' favor. He even earned himself Player of the Game accolades from his teammates in the locker room postgame.

Green shot 38.1 percent from three last season, the best mark of his career, and the 33-year-old looks ready to repeat or even improve on that performance in his second year with the Pistons.

Night-and-day difference from last season

It's one thing that Detroit collectively ended the night 38 percent from downtown. But its volume of shooting is perhaps the biggest takeaway of all.

The Pistons attempted 40 three-pointers against Boston, a far cry from their average of 30.9 threes taken per game last season — a figure that was the second-worst mark in the league behind only the Sacramento Kings' 30.2. And even though it was only the first game of the year, there are already some signs of promise in the process. 

Aside from Robinson and Green, newcomer Isaiah Joe went just 2-of-7 from deep, likely an outlier for the career 40.6 percent shooter. And although Cunningham only went 1-of-6 from three, one such miss came on a catch-and-shoot corner shot on a dish from Thompson that the star point guard should be expected to make more consistently if he continues to get off-ball opportunities this season. 

The season is still young, and the first game of the year is always prime territory for overreactions. But for a team that is going to have its shooting under a microscope for months to come, Tuesday's performance against Boston suggested that Detroit's offense should be just fine this year.