Simone Fontecchio's offense, defense shows why Detroit Pistons traded for him
MIAMI — Since Feb. 8, just two Detroit Pistons are averaging at least 15 points per game.
They’re both doing so efficiently, too, shooting at least 46% overall and 40% on 3-pointers.
The first? Their franchise player: Cade Cunningham, drafted in the summer of 2021.
The second? Someone with 10 games as a Piston: Simone Fontecchio.
The 6-foot-8 Italian sharpshooter was coveted by the Pistons at the NBA's trade deadline for his two-way ability. Since swapping his Utah Jazz gear for a Pistons jersey, he has been one of their most productive and reliable players. Despite the Pistons’ 118-110 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday, he had 22 points off of the bench. That brought him to 15 points a game while hitting 41.5% of his team-high 6.5 3-point attempts per game in red, white and blue.
MIAMI BLEAT: Pistons' Simone Fontecchio shows maybe he should start in 118-110 loss at Miami
Fontecchio has established himself quickly after arriving from the Jazz, earning the coaching staff’s trust because of his effectiveness on both ends of the floor. Head coach Monty Williams played him all 12 minutes of Tuesday's fourth quarter, which he closed alongside four starters — Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson — as the Pistons stayed within two possessions of the Heat, a playoff-bound squad, for the duration of the period.
“I love the way he plays the game,” Williams said afterward. “You talk about the offense, I thought his defense was rock-solid tonight. He doesn’t back away from a matchup. He’s not a guy that we have to worry about keeping in coverage so he doesn’t have to guard a prime-time guy. He guards everybody. His ability to knock down shots, attack the paint, he’s an efficient passer. He’s been a great asset to our program and somebody we believe in going forward.”
Fontecchio credits Cunningham for helping him acclimate so quickly. He had a haphazard start to his Detroit tenure, even by the usual trade deadline standard. Due to the trade's timing amid the Pistons' West Coast trip, he didn’t have the benefit of a practice or shootaround when debuted for the team against the Clippers in Los Angeles on Feb. 10. He still played well, though, with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Williams promoted him to the starting lineup afterward, where he remained for five games before Isaiah Stewart’s return from injury and suspension bumped him to the second unit against the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 27. Fontecchio has come off of the bench in the three games since, but his minutes have remained high; after 21 minutes against the Bulls, he logged 25 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, 33 against the Orlando Magic on Sunday and 29 Tuesday against the Heat.
In all, he’s averaging more minutes with the Pistons than he did with the Jazz, by more than five minutes a game. How does the increased role sit with Fontecchio?
“I’m good with it,” Fontecchio said. “Honestly the more I play, the more I’m happy. As I said, I’m ready to do whatever to help the team, to help the second unit too. We’ve got a lot of young guys coming in from the second unit. Want to be a leader for them and help them play the right way. We haven’t been pretty good the last, probably two or three games, starting from Chicago. We want to fix that. The coaching staff is doing a good job trying to adjust. We definitely want to be better.”
Tuesday showcased his value on both ends. He sparked a 12-5 run to open the second quarter by knocking down a pair of 3s and completing a four-point play as the Pistons trimmed the Heat's 10-point lead to three. He hit five 3-pointers, with his final one bringing the Pistons back within three points with 75 seconds to play. On a night the Pistons shot 28.6% from 3, his 41.7% mark added some much-needed spacing.
Williams is also comfortable playing Fontecchio for long stretches because he’s a plus defender. He’s smart about using his size, stays in front of the ball and rarely fouls.
Fontecchio is only in his second season after arriving from overseas. As a rookie, he said he struggled with fouling too much. He has since sharpened his technique — according to the website Cleaning The Glass, he has only committed defensive fouls on 2.2% of the possessions in which he has been on the floor for — in the 88th percentile among forwards.
“Playing defense in this league is really tough,” he said. “My first season last year, I needed to learn how to play defense — show your hands, keep your body, keep your chest in front of the ball. I was making a lot of fouls, so I kinda needed that one season. Now I think everybody’s starting to realize that I can play defense and I’m a good defender. I’m happy they realize it too.”
How did he learn how to not foul?
“Experience, IQ,” he said. “You learn it game-by-game, playing more and being on the floor, being on the court. As I said, last year I was fouling every time. It’s just the one thing that you learn and you have to be smart and trust your body and try to not reach, even when they show you the ball, because they’re very good at that.”
Fontecchio is in the Pistons’ longterm plans. He'll be a restricted free agent this offseason, and the organization will prioritize re-signing him. The Pistons have struggled with defense and shooting, a primary reason they’re tied for the fewest wins (nine) in the NBA.
It makes sense, then, that Fontecchio is viewed as a solution. Thus far, he has done everything right.
“I’m definitely impressed,” Cunningham said. “I can’t say that I’m super-surprised, though, just his IQ for the game, his feel for the game. You can throw him out there with anybody and he can figure it out. He’s been huge for us, he’s made the game a lot easier for us. We’ll continue to get more acclimated to him and he’ll continue to figure out the system more, and we’ll continue to jell.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons already love Simone Fontecchio: 'He guards everybody'
