Detroit Pistons 2019-20 rotation questions that need to be answered

Detroit Pistons Dwane Casey. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons Dwane Casey. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Pistons Derrick Rose. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

The bench

Looking at different lineups’ and players’ net ratings, it’s evident that the Pistons seriously lacked depth last season.

Stanley Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, Jose Calderon and Glenn Robinson III played over 3000 minutes last year sporting horrible net ratings.

But we don’t need to get into that. I don’t even have to tell you how bad it was that Jose Calderon was the backup point guard for a third of the season.

What I will tell you is that, from now on, the Pistons will feature the Rose-Morris bench duo with two of Kennard, Brown, Galloway surrounding them. Maker should complete that lineup, at least in terms of arithmetics.

Of course, a lot could change in training camp. There are several other contenders for rotation spots, who I listed earlier. So, what are the determining factors in this selection process?

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Rose and Morris, if healthy, should form a formidable two-man game. Rose ranks in the 80th percentile of pick-and-roll ball handlers while Morris is a capable pick-and-pop threat.

When Rose is healthy, he can score and he can score in bunches. He was in the 88th percentile last year in isolation. Combine his pick-and-roll, isolation and transition attempts and you get an excellent shot profile for a sixth man scorer.

I have less hope about his catch-and-shoot ability but I doubt the Pistons will use him off the ball much. However, he could thrive getting more dribble-handoffs going to his right and attacking the rim. His pull-up game is still a question even though he did excellently last year.

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The team didn’t acquire a true back up center but instead opted to go with the trend, small ball. Morris has been playing that role for a while now against backup units and has been successful in the past.

Able to hold his own on defense, Morris has a skill set that gives him a serious advantage against backup centers on offense. However, his shot selection is riddled with inefficient shots that don’t fit Casey’s shot spectrum.

Can he alter his shot selection and turn his long twos and pull up jumpers into pick&pop threes?
If so, Markieff Morris could reach career-high levels of efficiency. He certainly has the capacity to do so. If not, the spacing of the second unit has to be provided by other positions.

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Of course, both those players have suffered from injuries and there’s a mystery as to their current state. Will health prevent them from being themselves? In that case, the bench unit will struggle to score much as it did last year.

A five-out system seems like a good prediction for the second unit’s offensive scheme and a potentially successful one to say the least. I don’t really know where Maker fits into it but it’s probably precisely in the corner.

Will Maker shoot the ball somewhat respectably from the corners? His inconsistent mechanics suggest “who the hell knows?” The coaching staff will have to test that one as well as all the other questions.

If he doesn’t, either Doumbouya, Beasley or Wood will take his place in the rotation as he doesn’t offer much else in other areas either. Hopefully, in the plethora of options, one of them actually deserves to play.