Stan Van Gundy announced after practice this afternoon that the Detroit Pistons will roll out the same starting lineup against the Brooklyn Nets as the last game against the Miami Heat.
Stan Van Gundy has shown a willingness to shuffle the starting lineup’s deck this season, but the status quo appears to be the way the Detroit Pistons will continue tonight against the Brooklyn Nets.
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This game will mark the third straight game that Reggie Jackson will sit out due to rest, possibly en route to shutting his season down early. That means Ish Smith will make his fifth straight start, but the Pistons are missing an opportunity to rearrange things further.
Jon Leuer will make his second straight start as Tobias Harris will remain on the bench for the second straight game. Harris has been the most effective scorer for the Pistons since the season began, but his minutes are capped when he comes off the bench, playing six fewer minutes per game when he comes on in relief.
While this season is lost and there is nothing material left to play for, lessons have been learned about this team. When the season opened, it was believed that Andre Drummond could be an offensive cornerstone. That has been proven to be false this season, but that might end up not being such a bad thing. Drummond being revealed as a diminished offensive threat means the Pistons will have to elevate their superior options, and Tobias Harris is surely the Pistons’ supreme offensive talent.
The time has come to put the weight of the offense on Tobias Harris’ shoulders. There’s no better time than in the final stretch of the season in which to test his ability to carry the offense, and he can’t effectively do that from the bench.
Related Story: It's time for the Pistons to unleash Tobias Harris
Jon Leuer isn’t a starting-caliber forward. There’s nothing further to be gained from that experiment. The Pistons should reinstall Tobias Harris into the starting lineup going forward.