Detroit Pistons lineups: Could Frank Jackson break into the starting five?
Detroit Pistons: Frank Jackson in the starting lineup
If I had to guess, I’d say the Pistons’ opening night starting lineup will look like this:
- PG: Killian Hayes
- SG: Cade Cunningham
- SF: Saddiq Bey
- PF: Jerami Grant
- C: Kelly Olynyk
It’s possible that Isaiah Stewart will get the nod, but after suffering an offseason ankle injury, we’ll have to wait and see.
Although I really love the defensive potential of the Hayes/Cunningham backcourt, I also love the idea of bringing Hayes off the bench as a playmaker for the second unit.
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I also think that Cade Cunningham needs to be surrounded by guys who can take advantage of his passing, as he already has a lot of frustrating “potential assists” and we’re only in the 2nd game of Summer League.
That’s why I wouldn’t mind seeing a rotation that looked like this:
- PG: Cade Cunningham- Killian Hayes- Cory Joseph- Saben Lee
- SG: Frank Jackson-Hamidou Diallo
- SF: Saddiq Bey- Josh Jackson- Isaiah Livers
- PF: Jerami Grant- Sekou Doumbouya- Trey Lyles
- C: Isaiah Stewart-Kelly Olynyk-Frank Garza
Moving Frank Jackson into the starting five would give Cade Cunningham another weapon to work with and would spread the floor and allow him to set up his teammates.
With Olynyk moving to the bench, Killian Hayes would still have a shooter to run the pick-and-roll with while Diallo, Jackson and hopefully Doumbouya hold down the defense.
It spreads the scoring more evenly and gives the Pistons versatile lineups for both units.
I know this is very unlikely to happen, as there are also some solid reasons for going with a totally different look.