CBS ranks the Detroit Pistons' bench in the middle of the pack

CBS Sports took a look at the NBA’s bench units and gave the Detroit Pistons a middle-of-the-pack grade, an improvement for what many considered to be the worst bench in the NBA last year.

CBS Sports kicked off the week with a ranking of the NBA’s starting units, placing the Detroit Pistons’ starting five in ninth across the league, and they followed it up with a ranking of the NBA’s bench units. It’s become a reflex to cringe whenever the Pistons are brought up in the context of bench play, but thanks to a solid offseason that appears to be a thing of the past.

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The Pistons added Ish Smith, Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic, Ray McCallum, and drafted Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije, while parting ways with Steve Blake, Spencer Dinwiddie, Anthony Tolliver and Joel Anthony. That’s a significant amount of turnover in about five weeks’ time.

CBS Sports turned a favorable eye on what the Pistons accomplished this offseason. Zach Harper, Matt Moore, Ananth Pandian and James Herbert of CBS ranked every bench unit, and teams were ranked by the resulting composite score. The Pistons found themselves ranked better than average, coming in at 13th in the NBA.

Via CBS Sports:

"13. Detroit PistonsPROJECTED BENCH: Ish Smith, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock, Jon Leuer, Boban MarjanovicOne vote for 26th. The rest of the votes were in the top half of the league. The concern is that Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic and Ish Smith don’t warrant big minutes for a second unit that was brutally bad last season. Reggie Bullock may fall into that category as well. But the promise of Stanley Johnson, who played so tough against LeBron James in the playoffs, gives you a ton of hope. He’s as tough as they come and is a better scorer than he showed in his rookie campaign. The Pistons’ bench couldn’t make shots a year ago. Will that be the case again this season?"

The concerns may be well-placed, but the upside that Stanley Johnson looks to provide this season, particularly after a great summer, may give the bench a big boost.

The rest of the top 15 bench units break down as follows: