There has been a lot of talk about who will be in the starting lineup for the Detroit Pistons, especially in the backcourt.
Most starting lineup predictions have some combination of Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey, but after that is where the debate starts.
Most believe Killian Hayes will get the first chance to start with Cade, but if things don’t work out, Dwane Casey has a lot of options to pivot to, including bringing Hayes off the bench and rolling with someone who is a better fit with the number one pick.
Josh Jackson and Hamidou Diallo are two of the frontrunners if the Hayes/Cunningham experiment doesn’t work and both offer similar skills. I would say Frank Jackson is a long shot as well, but the Pistons might like him more as a boost of offense off the bench.
Both Josh Jackson and Diallo are good defenders and plus athletes with good size who struggle to shoot the ball consistently.
But there are some scenarios in which one of them will end up in the starting lineup for the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons: What if the Killian Hayes and Cade Cunningham experimenter doesn’t work?
As bad as Jackson and Diallo were shooting the ball last season, they were both miles ahead of Killian Hayes, who only played 26 games but really struggled with his shot.
Hayes is a great passer and looks like he’ll be a lockdown defender, but he is indecisive with the ball when he gets in a position to score and often passes up shots, which leads to tough passes and turnovers.
Cunningham needs to have the ball in his hands to be effective, so if the Detroit Pistons see that he is mostly standing around while Hayes is trying to make plays, the two won’t last long as a backcourt duo in the starting lineup.
The Pistons are invested in Hayes, so he’ll get the first chance, but if he falters, one of Josh Jackson or Hamidou Diallo could get the other starting guard spot.
But it will take more than Hayes struggling to hit shots to get one of Jackson or Diallo into the starting five.