The Detroit Pistons’ roster will have more depth this season, but there are still some big questions that need to be answered.
Coach Casey dropped some hints about the starting lineup, namely that it could be very young and inexperienced.
That is to be expected, as the Pistons are one of the youngest teams in the NBA and building around a core of young players and veterans Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk.
But the Pistons still have a glaring weakness in the starting lineup. Hopefully someone will step up and turn this weakness into a strength but the Pistons are counting on guys who are unknown or unproven for the task.
Detroit Pistons: Starting guard next to Cade Cunningham is a problem
We’ve discussed some of the possibilities for starting guards next to Cade Cunningham and just about every guard on the roster has a case.
The problem is that all of them have major flaws as well.
Killian Hayes is still unproven and has to show that he can shoot consistently enough to stay in the starting five with Cade. Same with Josh Jackson and Hamidou Diallo, who can both defend but also have questions around their shooting.
Frank Jackson is another option, but he seems best served by being the Pistons’ “instant offense” off the bench and will need to shoot at a high level for more than one season before he is handed more responsibility.
All of these players are fine as bench guys, but when you start comparing them to other starting guards around the league they come up lacking.
The Detroit Pistons had the top scoring bench in the NBA last season but the problem was that their starters were one of the lowest-scoring units in the league.
Cade Cunningham and Kelly Olynyk (if he starts) will help those starting numbers and the Pistons will once again have a strong bench, but they still have that big question mark at starting guard, and if someone doesn’t step up, they may be looking for a new face in free agency or trade.