The Detroit Pistons have had great play from their bench during the preseason, not so much from their starters. However, the roles were reversed for its 112-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the final tuneup for the regular season. That is a good sign.
It is a general rule that the starters should be better than the bench, that is why they start the game. There are exceptions, where players thrive coming off the bench. Lou Williams and former Pistons great Vinnie Johnson come to mind.
However, for most of the preseason games, and an open scrimmage, the bench has outplayed, sometimes by a wide margin, the starters for the Pistons.
Now, the caveat is that what will be the main starting lineup for Detroit have not yet played together. Heck, No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham has not even been in a game at all, due to an ankle injury (he will also miss the regular season opener against Chicago).
The other guard who should start, Killian Hayes, only played in one exhibition game, while starting small forward Saddiq Bey appeared in two. Starting center Isaiah Stewart was in all four but, coming off a serious ankle injury, really only looked like himself in the final game.
Jerami Grant is the only regular starter who played in every game, and looked like he should, leading the team with an 18.5 point average.
But even when Detroit had what should be four of its five normal starters out there, the bench still looked superior. The plus/minus for the non-starters was much better than those who started in the first three games, And let’s not forget the 80-51 pasting the bench gave the starters in the open practice at Little Caesars Arena.
Now, coach Dwane Casey has said he wanted to keep the second unit intact so they could learn to play together, which is why he went deep into the bench for some starters. That is why guards Saben Lee and Rodney McGruder, who may not see much time when everyone is healthy, got starting assignments in a couple games.
But these are just excuses. It is not like the other teams rolled out their regular starting five every game either. Beginning a game getting the bejeebers kicked out of you, then depending on the Canadian National Team (Kelly Olynyk, Trey Lyles, Cory Joseph) to continually bail you out, is not sustainable over an 82-game season.
As Grant rightly said, after the final practice before the Bulls game:
#Pistons Jerami Grant on setback with team injuries: "Everyone has to stay ready, no matter what's happening; you're rarely going to have a time when everyone's healthy on the team."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) October 19, 2021
If you starting, then you need to play like a starter.
Detroit Pistons starters shine against 76ers
Stewart and Grant were the only regulars to play against Philly in the final exhibition game. But the other three starters, Josh Jackson, Saben Lee and Frank Jackson, stepped up their games.
Detroit took a 21-13 lead at the start. For once, the bench would not have to bail them out. Which is a good thing, because the subs stunk in this one.
Led by Michigan State’s Aaron Henry (a two-way player for the Sixers) and others who will be in the G-League or very deep subs, the 76ers third- and fourth-stringers outplayed the Pistons second unit.
After seeing a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter melt away, Casey had Grant and Josh Jackson play most of the final period to help stave off a 76ers rally. In a meaningless game, Grant played 35 minutes, which is more than he probably will play in games that actually count.
When the game was over, and the Pistons victorious, the stats showed who had been the main reason for the win.
The five Detroit starters were a combined +131, which is amazing in four-point game. The non-starters? An underwater minus-111. (We do want to single out Luka Garza, the only sub with a plus (+2,) as he helped beat the 76ers in the final minutes). Yikes!
With the Pistons expected to be shorthanded at least for a game or two, whoever starts can’t be just a placeholder, they have to contribute. It looks like that message is finally getting across.
Having played so well throughout the preseason, we will chalk up the poor performance against the 76ers as an outlier for the Pistons bench. It is a solid unit and if the starters, whoever they may be, can hold their own, Detroit should be competitive in a lot of games.