Detroit Pistons: Predicting stats for every player on the roster

Detroit Pistons: Stats for the deep bench

Rodney McGruder: 3 points/1.5 rebounds/.5 assists

If McGruder even gets as many minutes as he did last season then something went horribly wrong, as he is buried on the depth chart and was probably just brought back for veteran roster filler. McGruder will mostly play in mop-up duty or if someone gets injured.

Trey Lyles: 3 points/3 rebounds

There has been some talk of Lyles playing some as a small-ball center, but I can’t see it. He will get some run at backup power forward but I can also see Saddiq Bey getting most of those minutes, so don’t expect to see much of Lyles this season unless there is an injury or someone is underperforming.

With Josh Jackson, Hamidou Diallo and Frank Jackson all fighting for minutes and expected to be a part of the rotation, I could see Lyles being the odd man out. It’s also possible that Isaiah Livers will eventually get some of those minutes, so hopefully one of them will beat out the veteran Lyles.

Luka Garza: 8 points/6 rebounds/2.5 assists

Garza is another player who I expect to start the season in the G-League and not in the rotation, though the Detroit Pistons are thin at center with just Isaiah Stewart and Kelly Olynyk at the position.

But I do think Garza is going to play, as he has put in the work and looks much slimmer and faster than he did in college. If he can knock down shots and not get killed on defense, then Garza will eventually get some minutes as the season progresses and like Saben Lee could bounce back and forth between the Pistons and the Cruise.

But Garza has shown he can fill a stat sheet, so I expect him to put up decent numbers in his rookie season. I wouldn’t bet against Garza beating this prediction.