The Detroit Pistons lost their 9th game in a row last night at home against the fellow bottom-feeding Oklahoma City Thunder.
Cade Cunningham was amazing, Saddiq Bey finally hit some shots and Jerami Grant put up a solid all-around game, so it wasn’t all bad.
In fact, the Pistons looked great in the first half and appeared poised to cruise to an easy win before they were once again undone by a bad quarter, or in this case, two of them.
Part of the problem is that the Pistons’ bench is abysmal, with not a single guy coming off it right now who should be in an NBA rotation. Yep, I said it.
I didn’t expect the Pistons to be good this year, in fact, knowing they have three 20-year-old starters, I am not surprised that they have the worst record in the NBA and I do think things are still going to plan.
I should also say that losing Kelly Olynyk was a pretty big blow to the bench, as it’s forced a few guys into more minutes than they would be getting.
But I don’t think anyone expected the bench to be this terrible even without KO and moving forward it’s clear that the Detroit Pistons need A LOT more depth before they are ready to compete.
Let’s take a look at the numbers.
The Detroit Pistons bench: Don’t let the scoring numbers fool you
I’ve had a lot of people tell me that the bench is not the problem, as they are the 3rd-highest scoring unit in the NBA.
This is somewhat true, as the Pistons have two guys in Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes who don’t score in double digits, which puts a lot of pressure on the reserves to make up the difference. Not many teams feature two non-scoring threats in the starting five.
However, these guys are 20-years-old!! At least Beef Stew and Hayes have upside and are not finished products. I am happy letting them develop getting big minutes.
You can’t say that about anyone on the bench.
While they are the 3rd-highest scoring unit, there are other numbers that show how bad they really are:
- The Pistons’ bench is 26th in net rating at -2.3
- They are 19th in FG%
- They are 28th in 3pt%
- 19th in rebounding
- 27th in turnovers
This is a veteran unit that can’t shoot, can’t defend, can’t rebound and turns the ball over like a bunch of rookies. The ONLY reason they are so high in points per game is that they lead the NBA in free throw attempts and makes for a bench. Kudos!
While you expect your rookies and second year players to be inconsistent shooting and taking care of the ball, you don’t expect it from guys who are supposed to be the “veteran” leaders.
Does the Pistons’ bench have a single guy worth keeping? Let’s take a look.
Does the Detroit Pistons’ bench have a playable guard?
Frank Jackson
After having a “breakout” season last year where he shot 40 percent from long range, Jackson has taken a steep dip. He is shooting 29.8 percent from long range this season and really offers nothing else. I admit that I thought Jackson was going to be a guy who would score 15 points a game for Detroit this season and instead he’s averaging nine on terrible shooting splits.
Cory Joseph
CoJo is pretty much what we thought, a decent veteran backup who should be the third point guard playing about 12 minutes a night. If he was your 10th guy, your team is probably good. If he’s your 6th man, you suck.
Saben Lee
Haven’t heard much from the Saben Lee Truthers lately. I think Lee has a future as a third point guard in the NBA someday and that his ceiling is Ish Smith. If he was Smith now, he’d be the best player on the Pistons’ bench, but he’s not.
If “near dunks” were a stat, Lee would probably lead the NBA.
Hamidou Diallo
Diallo is the one guy coming off the bench right now who looks like an NBA rotation player. It’s too bad he was out last night with a broken face. He can’t shoot either but adds an element of athleticism and defensive energy that no one else on the bench has.
Rodney McGruder
Might as well be me on the bench.
Detroit Pistons’ bench: The wings and bigs are even worse
Josh Jackson
I do think that Jackson could help a team, just not this one. If the Pistons were loaded with shooters, then I would probably love Jackson coming off the bench as a defense/energy guy, but they are not. He will almost certainly be traded before the deadline.
That hurts, as I really wanted JJ to figure it out, as he loves Detroit and wants to be there. He’s just not a fit on a bad team. His ultimate role will be a defensive stopper off a good team’s bench.
Luka Garza
I don’t want to badmouth Garza too much, as he’s a 2nd-round rookie and the fact that he is even getting minutes shows you just how bad this bench really is. I love Luka’s hustle and work, but man is he slow. He’s one of the few pro athletes I think I could beat in a sprint, and I am in slightly less than peak human form (being kind to myself there).
Garza has a future as a 3rd big who can stretch the floor, but should be in the G-League working right now, not in the NBA.
Trey Lyles
Whoo, boy, do I ever hate watching this guy play basketball. I now understand why he’s been on a new team pretty much every year of his career. He’s a “stretch” who can’t shoot and watching him try to drive is actually physically painful for me. I have to turn away for fear of injuring my soul.
Oh, he can’t defend either, so there’s that.
All you can do is laugh at this point, as the Detroit Pistons are rebuilding and we knew this was going to be a long-term project, not a short one. At least it is clear that the Pistons need far more quality depth and at least none of these guys are on bad contracts.
By the time the Pistons are good, most of these guys won’t be on the team (or even in the league in some cases) so I don’t want to be too negative, but right now this bench is hard to watch and I am pretty much just waiting for Cade Cunningham to come back into the game.