Detroit Pistons: 3 things to watch against the Mavericks

Detroit Pistons: Frank Jackson and Josh Jackson playing for the future

Josh Jackson and Frank Jackson have been two of the pleasant surprises of the season and both are playing for a future role with the team.

Josh Jackson has been up and down, especially shooting the ball, but has played good defense and had some big games for the Pistons off the bench as well as in the starting lineup.

Is he potentially the starting shooting guard of the future?

Frank Jackson has been a reliable bench scorer for most of the second half, averaging double digits and often being the instant offense off the bench that the Pistons have lacked.

Frank Jackson will be a restricted free agent as long as the Pistons offer him a qualifying offer, but some other team could swoop in and offer him more than the Pistons are willing to match.

In the case of Josh Jackson, he is signed for next season at a reasonable deal, but when the Pistons traded for Hamidou Diallo they got a guy who plays a very similar role and is younger.

This could make Josh Jackson trade bait this offseason, as he is productive and on a good deal, so the Detroit Pistons might be able to get a nice haul for him.

Otherwise, he’ll be battling it out with Diallo for minutes at the shooting guard. Either way, he wants to have strong performances down the stretch to increase his value to the team.

The Jackson Two will be something to watch tonight vs. the Mavs as they should both get plenty of minutes to do their thing.