Stan Van Gundy considering point guard change

The Detroit Pistons have had no shortage of questions at the point guard position, and Stan Van Gundy might be thinking about making a change.

After practice today at the Detroit Pistons practice facility in Auburn Hills, Stan Van Gundy indicated a willingness to change up the starting lineup. Reggie Jackson has struggled to an incredible level, while Ish Smith has thrust the Pistons forward behind his frenetic pace. There’s no question one has played better than the other, and that fact isn’t lost on Van Gundy.

Per Aaron McMann of MLive:

"“We haven’t ruled it out — I’m still thinking,” Van Gundy said of the possible change. “We’ve got to get better energy off the start of games. That’s not just him, he and Andre (Drummond) particularly. Those are the two guys — it’s got to go up.”"

"“He says he’s fine, our medical people say he’s fine,” Van Gundy said. “The difference right now is an energy difference. That’s what I talked about with Reggie today. I think for us to be successful with him on the floor, his defense and his energy have to improve.”"

On the surface, it seems like a solid move. Swap the struggling point guard for the surging point guard and watch the wins pile up. When you dig a little deeper, though, things start to unravel.

First and foremost, bench units featuring Ish Smith, Tobias Harris and Stanley Johnson were magnificent in February. In fact, this trio was the best threesome in the NBA last month.

This trio has three elements that you want in such a unit. Stanley Johnson is your stopper and energy guy, Tobias Harris is a primary scoring option who can hit a variety of shots from all over the floor and create his own offense, and Ish Smith is a facilitating point guard who pushes the pace and takes advantage of mismatches his teammates can find. Once defenses can set up in the half court against this unit, things start to unravel, but this trio’s own defensive prowess sets up its offense.

The downside of moving Ish to the starting lineup in favor of Reggie Jackson is that this unit is essentially dissolved. Ish is a low-usage player who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective, which is why he and Tobias Harris flow together so well offensively. Conversely, Jackson dominates the ball and is high-usage, doing very little on the offensive end without the ball. Jackson and Harris are redundant when they play together, which is why they should be kept separate.

Next: THe Pistons are struggling on back to backs

If Ish Smith is moved to the starting lineup, Tobias Harris should be too, probably in place of Jon Leuer, and the Detroit Pistons would go back to square one with the opening day starting lineup. If the Van Gundy isn’t willing to move Harris back into the starting lineup, however, Smith should remain on the second unit with increased minutes.