Pistons open practice: Cade, Killian and hints at a starting lineup
A hint at the Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup?
We can’t read too much into a practice, but Dwane Casey may have given us a hint at the starting lineup we will see on opening night:
Would not make any assumptions, but the five at one end of the floor at Pistons open practice: Cunningham, Ivey, Bey, Bodganovic and Bagley
— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) October 2, 2022
At the other end: Hayes, Diallo, Duren, Livers and Stewart.
Marvin Bagley III ran as the center with the starters and Isaiah Stewart played as the backup power forward along with center Jalen Duren.
This doesn’t mean this is the starting lineup we’ll see on opening night, but we knew that if Bojan Bogdanovic was going to start, then one of Bagley III or Stewart would have to move to the bench.
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Bagley III probably gives the Pistons their best offensive starting five, but potentially leaves them weak on defense, while a Stewart and Duren front court may be stout defensively but have some spacing issues unless Beef Stew shows he can shoot.
It’s possible coach Casey just wanted to get Stewart more run with Duren to see how it works and that Stewart will be the starter once the games are real, but Cade and MBIII had a nice two-man game going, so who knows, this might end up being the starting lineup we see to begin the season.
It’s something to keep an eye on as preseason starts and we edge closer to real games, though I am sure coach Casey is going to experiment with several configurations.
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