The Detroit Pistons have struggled offensively this season and are dead last in the NBA in scoring, even after last night’s victory over the Houston Rockets in which the Pistons scored over 110 points for the first time.
Just about the entire team has struggled to shoot the ball, especially from 3-point range, and the bench has been particularly bad, with guys like Cory Joseph and Frank Jackson failing to knock down shots.
The Detroit Pistons have struggled in the half court, especially when Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes are on the bench, as they just don’t have many other playmakers or guys who can get their own shots.
Jerami Grant can be this guy at times, but he has played better off the ball this season, and the offense is noticeably worse when one of the two young point guards isn’t on the floor.
That is why Dwane Casey needs to make a change to his rotation.
Detroit Pistons: It’s time to stagger Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes
The Pistons have been going with a very young starting five, which I like, as this is the future of the team and Dwane Casey is getting them plenty of minutes.
This notion that Casey is “not playing the young guys” is a tired narrative that simply doesn’t hold up if you actually look at the numbers.
I have no problem with Cade and Killian starting together, as they are starting to form some chemistry and Hayes has shot the ball better of late and is actually leading the team in 3-point percentage, though that is not saying much.
The issue comes when they are both on the bench, as the Pistons have a hard time generating shots when Cory Joseph and Josh Jackson are their primary ball handlers, as they were at times last night.
Joseph could be losing minutes to Saben Lee soon, but until then, the Pistons’ bench is going to struggle to generate good shots.
This is why Dwane Casey needs to stagger the minutes of Cunningham and Hayes so that one of them is always on the floor. They can still get some overlapping minutes together, but the Pistons’ offense tends to fall apart as soon as the duo goes to the bench.
Staggering them also gives both players a chance to be the primary ball handler and create shots for teammates, which is what they are really good at right now.
We saw this in the second quarter in last night’s game, as the Pistons’ offense sputtered with both guards on the bench.
While I do like the development of the duo together, they are too valuable as playmakers to both be on the bench at the same time.