Predicting the Detroit Pistons 2019-20 starting lineup

The Detroit Pistons spent the 2019 off season retooling its roster. What will the starting lineup look like on opening night?

Over the past two months, the Detroit Pistons have orchestrated a solid, albeit quiet, offseason.

The Pistons’ biggest splash occurred when the team signed former MVP Derrick Rose at the start of free agency. This move has been supplemented by other signings including Markieff Morris, Tim Frazier, Christian Wood, and Michael Beasley.

Additionally, Detroit traded for forward Tony Snell and added Sekou Doumbouya, Deividas Sirvydis, and Jordan Bone through the draft.

Despite the reshuffling and retooling of Detroit’s roster, the starting lineup looks to remain almost completely intact from last season. If the season were to start today, the Pistons starting five would like something like this:

PG: Reggie Jackson

SG: Bruce Brown

SF: Tony Snell

PF: Blake Griffin

C: Andre Drummond

As of now, Snell is the only new addition to Detroit’s starting lineup. Last season, the Pistons lacked a true small forward, and Snell’s prototypical size and shooting ability should fill the role adequately. His career 38.2 percent from three will be a welcomed sight for a team that ranked 23rd in the league in 3-point percentage despite taking the 6th most attempts per game.

Two starters, Drummond and Jackson, are entering contract years and could very well see a bump in production as they anticipate free agency. Drummond’s hot finish to the 2018-19 season could be a sign of what’s to come for the 26-year-old big man, who averaged 17.3 points, 15.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the field.

Jackson, who has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons, vanquished his injury bug and played in all 82 games last season. Unsurprisingly, his improved health correlated to improved performance on the court. Jackson finished the season averaging 15.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 0.7 steals per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from three. A full offseason without rehab should do wonders for Jackson’s production during the upcoming season, and he should fill the point guard role solidly in what could be his final season in Detroit.

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Brown is the starting five’s weakest link. The second-year combo guard enjoyed ample playing time during his rookie season, but his game leaves much to be desired.

While Brown showed real potential on the defensive end, evolving into Detroit’s premier defender by season’s end, his offensive game was almost non-existent as he shot 39.8 percent from the field and 25.8 percent from three.

During the Summer League, however, Brown looked like a completely different player. The defensive specialist showed off impressive court vision and transformed into an effective floor general and a triple-double threat.

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If Brown can play to these strengths during the 2019-20 season, he should show tremendous improvement from his rookie season.

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Finally, Griffin will continue to serve as the team’s leader and anchor on the offensive end. The six-time All-Star showed off a completely transformed game last season, evolving from a high-flying dunker into a point forward with a respectable 3-pointer. Griffin finished the season averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on 46.2 percent shooting from the field and 36.2 percent from three.

While the offense will mostly run through Griffin, as it did last season, look for head coach Dwane Casey to ease his usage in order to protect his health and save his energy for the postseason.

Overall, this projected starting lineup should be an upgrade over last season’s. As always, health will be key to its success, but in terms of development and production, Detroit’s starting five is trending in the right direction. With improved 3-point shooting and a deeper bench to support it, look for Detroit’s starting lineup to play playoff-level basketball this upcoming season.

Would your starting five look different from this? Let us know in the comments section or by joining the conversation on the Piston Powered Facebook page or on Twitter @PistonPowered.