Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond to rotate starts in preseason

By Dan Feldman | Oct 9, 2014

Nov 1, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) Detroit Pistons small forward Josh Smith (6) and Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe (10) react to call against Memphis Grizzlies during the second half at FedExForum. Memphis Grizzlies beat the Detroit Pistons 111 to 108. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /

David Mayo of MLive:

"The Pistons will start Greg Monroe at center and Josh Smith at power forward in Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. home preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks.Then, Sunday at Washington, Andre Drummond will start at center, with Monroe at power forward, Van Gundy said."

I like where Stan Van Gundy is going. All three combinations – Smith-Drummond (which started Detroit’s preseason-opening win over the Bulls), Smith-Monroe and Monroe-Drummond – worked well enough last season as long the third big sat. However, none of the three pairings proved an overwhelming success.

Which duo can Van Gundy coax the most from? How will he use each?

This is the time to experiment, and Van Gundy is doing just that. He’s already ahead of Maurice Cheeks and John Loyer by playing just two bigs at a time. Whatever Van Gundy learns in the preseason will just push the Pistons further ahead.

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