Detroit Pistons have “death lineup” according to The Ringer
The Detroit Pistons might have one of the most versatile rosters in the NBA. With Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, and Stanley Johnson, Jonathan Tjarks thinks the Pistons have their own version of Golden State’s “death lineup”.
The Detroit Pistons sought to become more versatile this offseason. Mission accomplished.
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The Pistons severely lacked a power forward with size and that weakness was one of the biggest factors in their first round loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when Kevin Love torched whoever Stan Van Gundy decided to throw at him.
To combat this weakness, the Pistons added considerable size in Boban Marjanovic and Jon Leuer, the latter of which gives the Pistons the ability to match up with anyone.
While signing these players was essential for the Pistons, it’s the players already on the roster that should give other teams fits.
Jonathan Tjarks over at The Ringer thinks it’s the Pistons’ versatile forwards that could truly make a difference.
"Detroit Pistons — Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Stanley Johnson, Tobias Harris, and Marcus MorrisNecessity is the mother of invention. The Pistons went to this lineup in the final six minutes of Game 4 of their first-round series against the Cavs, after playing these players together for less than a minute in the regular season. It was pure five-out basketball, with five players on the 3-point line, all of whom had range out to the arc and could score off the dribble. The Cavs were scrambling and out of sorts on defense, needing shot-making heroics from LeBron and Kyrie Irving, as well as a miss at the buzzer from Jackson, to escape with a 100–98 win.There’s no way to play help defense against a team that can attack from all five spots on the floor. Everyone has to stay in front of their man, and that’s difficult when facing three different combo forwards (Harris, Morris, and Johnson), all 6-foot-7 and up, who can exploit a mismatch shooting from the perimeter or off the bounce. There’s nowhere to hide a conventional big man, and very few teams around the NBA have that many big and athletic wing defenders on their roster. The Pistons offense is still built around pick-and-rolls with Andre Drummond, but this lineup maximizes their scoring options.The key to making it work defensively is the length and athleticism of Jackson (6-foot-3 with a wingspan near 7 feet) and Caldwell-Pope (6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan). They can pressure the ball and prevent easy entry passes into the post, and they can switch on bigger players and contest their shots. Switching goes both ways; it’s not enough to have big men who can guard on the perimeter. It’s just as important to have guards who can hold their own in the paint."
The Pistons likely won’t go to this rotation often–particularly with Andre Drummond on the roster–but it gives the team a fighting chance against small ball teams like the Golden State Warriors, who figure to be this season’s best team.
If each players takes a jump in play this season–even if it’s not by much–their collective progress could propel the Pistons to a dangerous team, particularly because of the versatility on the roster.
It will be interesting to see what type of progress each player has made this offseason, and how Van Gundy handles his rotations.
Next: Realistic expectations for Stanley Johnson
With the added progress from players and successful rotational changes the Pistons could be a very fun team to watch this season.