Detroit Pistons stock exchange: Who is trending after Pistons’ 124-117 win over the Dallas Mavericks

The Detroit Pistons won their second preseason game, one which not much defense was played. Here’s who is trending after the win over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Detroit Pistons managed to grab a 124-117 win against the Dallas Mavericks mainly fueled by their offense. Wins and losses don’t mean much in preseason but last night’s game felt like a regular game most of the time. Dwane Casey mostly used lineups that we expect to see all year which made this game more intriguing than the first one.

First Half

The starters kept the game close in the first quarter. Reggie Jackson, Tony Snell, Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond fit well together and the chemistry is already there. Regardless of who’s the fifth starter, lineups with those four will perform quite well.

Finding the last piece of the puzzle is more about optimizing the rotation than finding a lineup that works. Bruce Brown holds that spot for now and let’s hope he sticks.

Casey started the second quarter with an all bench lineup of Derrick Rose, Luke Kennard, Langston Galloway, Thon Maker, Markieff Morris and it didn’t go well at all. They quickly gave up a 12-point difference and the lack of perimeter defense was apparent.

That perimeter trio will have a significant disadvantage in length and strength against most lineups. With Galloway being the only one actually trying to rotate and contest shots you won’t get far. Unfortunately, his length does not help him at all in those situations.

My suggestion would be to mix more Brown in that lineup. Casey can substitute him out in the first and have him start the second quarter to cover for Rose and Kennard on defense. That way, Galloway will play more minutes with the starters where his skills are optimized. On offense, he can spot up and come off Griffin or Drummond screens. On defense, he can guard quick ball handlers while Jackson takes on an off-ball role that suits him best.

Griffin could also work quite well in that lineup instead of Maker. Maker tries but his frame doesn’t help him at all with setting screens. Most defenders can get around him and he doesn’t have much gravity as he rolls, given his inability to catch passes and finish through contact. Defenses want the ball to get to Maker and that makes life harder for Kennard and Rose to score.

In any case, Morris should be more involved by setting picks and popping to the 3-point line, giving Rose space to attack. That must be a better option than a Maker pick-and-roll. But I’d also like to see Griffin in there, trying his two-man game with Kennard. A Rose, Kennard, Brown, Griffin, Morris small-ball lineup may be pretty bad on defense but they should be fine based on offensive firepower alone.