If there is anything to be gleaned from the Detroit Pistons final game of the season, it is that the end of the bench needs to be upgraded by next season if the stated goal of playoff contention is to be met. How is the question?
It was a game the Pistons really, really did not want to win. In the 82nd and final contest of the season, Detroit was facing a Philadelphia 76ers team resting its two top players in Joel Embiid and James Harden (A disinterested Tobias Harris played, but scored just six points).
A victory meant they would tie Oklahoma City for third-worst record in the NBA. The three bottom teams all have equal chances for the No.1 pick (14%) as well as finishing in top four (52.1%), so a few extra ping pong balls would have been taken from Detroit if they lost.
Cade Cunningham did not play but regulars Saddiq Bey, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart and Frank Jackson all started (as well as Isaiah Livers, who has played well since being medically cleared).
A pattern quickly developed in the game. When Detroit had its ‘starters’ in together, they were beating the Sixers, who played everyone except the big 2. However, when the bench, which at this point was composed of players who mostly saw action in the G-League, guys who never play and those on two-way contracts, was on the court, the Sixers were in control.
Although the plus/minus stat is not a perfect barometer of a player’s impact, it showed a very stark trend in the 76ers game:
Pistons starters total plus-minus: +45
Pistons bench total plus/minus: -105
Yikes!
Detroit Pistons bench not giving support
Detroit took a 22-15 lead and then coach Dwane Casey started subbing, whereupon the Sixers went on a 34-12 run. Down by 15, Casey put back in the starters to end the second period. The Pistons went on a 23-10 run and Philly was clinging to a 62-60 lead at halftime.
Casey figured that was a positive enough note to end things on, and Bey, Hayes and Stewart saw no action in the second half. Jackson still played because, well, he had missed a lot of time with injury, and he wanted to play, maybe show off his new long shorts.
Detroit, as they always do, played hard but, after taking a five-point lead in the third quarter (the Sixers fans then booed the team for letting it occur), the hammer came down. Tyrese Maxey turned on the jets to score, Matisse Thybulle kept stripping Saben Lee of the ball and Paul Reed, the Sixers fourth-string center for much of the season, crushed them inside for 25 points.
The 76ers won,118-106, the margin making Detroit betting fans happy who took the +13 points before word got out that Embiid and Harden were sitting.
Hey, everyone got to play, Luka Garza scored a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) PIstons fans made some money, the Thunder playing six players for the last few games was for naught … good times.
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However, while planning for next season, coach Casey and general manager Troy Weaver clearly saw the back of the bench needs to be strengthened. If the goal is, at the very least, the Play-in tournament next year, something must be done.
Injuries happen, and you might find parts of the season where the No. 13, 14 or 15 player on the roster has to be pressed into serious action. Battling for playoff positioning, every game now means something.
When star guard Ja Morant was out with injury, the Memphis Grizzlies went 21-4, which is why they are the No. 2 seed in the West. Detroit without Cade Cunningham: 3-15.
Here are 3 ways to improve the Pistons bench: