What is the Pistons’ most underrated strength?

When examining the Detroit Pistons’ strengths and weaknesses this season, the bench unit deserves more credit than they are getting.

Winning is fun, isn’t it? The Detroit Pistons, winners of five straight, have been playing a with a renewed sense of purpose.

After their impressive win against the Golden State Warriors a few weeks ago, the Pistons have officially put the league on notice.

Detroit Basketball is back, baby.

The addition of Avery Bradley, having a healthy Reggie Jackson, a much improved Andre Drummond, and budding superstar Tobias Harris have all taken major steps to bring this Detroit to the ceiling of the Eastern Conference.

However, the true unsung hero of the Pistons’ success thus far has been the motley crew of individuals that spell the starters on a nightly basis.

If you examine the premier teams across the league, a common thread includes having a strong bench to keep the game competitive while the starters rest. The Oklahoma City Thunder experienced first-hand what it was like without a quality bench, en route to a 4-1 first round exit at the hands of the Houston Rockets, who tout one of the strongest benches in the NBA.

Recently NBA Math’s podcast affiliate, Hardwood Knocks, posted a tweet about the NBA’s top bench units:

P.S. This is one of the best NBA podcasts out there and definitely deserves your listen.

The 2017-18 Detroit Pistons’ bench find themselves in good company, but its important to note why the Pistons’ bench has been so successful.

Firstly, Ish Smith has been taking care of the basketball. Smith only turns the ball over an average of 1.4 times per game, and gets teammates involved by boasting one of the best assist/turnover ratios in the NBA with 3.11 assists per turnover.

When Smith does decide to score, he ranks in the 99th(!) percentile in mid-range shooting averaging 1.33 points per possession.

The #TolliverEffect has been in full swing as well.

So far in Anthony Tolliver‘s encore season in Detroit, Tolliver has averaged 18.3 points per 100 possessions. Tolliver ranks as one of the better spot-up shooters in the league so far, and has proven to be a major positive on defense as well.

In addition to being the Pistons’ best defender against Knicks’ forward Kristaps Porzingis, he has the second highest defensive rating on the team by allowing only 90.1 points per 100 possessions.

When Langston Galloway was signed to a contract this summer, it wasn’t met with the same brouhaha that other free agents received. Galloway, like Tolliver, has proven himself to be an elite spot-up shooter on the bench unit – which is ideal because of how often Ish Smith drives in the lane and kicks the ball out to open shooters.

Galloway, according to defensive rating, is currently the Pistons’ best defender and that likely aids the positive net rating that Hardwood Knocks tweeted about.

Next: Tobias Harris had offseason Lasik surgery

It will be interesting to see the dynamic of the Pistons’ bench upon Jon Leuer‘s return but if the Pistons’ bench continues its strong play, the team will be competing for a top-tier playoff spot as the season progresses.