The Detroit Pistons have only played three games this season, so it is far too early to know where they really are as a team and where they might end up by the time it’s over.
This is one of the youngest teams in the league, so we knew they were going to struggle at times and be flat-out ugly at others, so what we’ve seen so far isn’t really surprising.
There have been some good moments and plenty of signs of great things to come, but there have also been some huge problems that may not go away.
Any reaction after three games is by default an overreaction, but here are three that are going to be part of the narrative until the Detroit Pistons give us a reason for them not to be.
Overreaction #1: The Detroit Pistons have the worst bench in the league
At this point, this is just a fact, not an overreaction, as the Pistons’ bench has been atrocious this season, getting outscored 124-51 in the last two games.
It’s not just the wins and losses the bench is affecting, as Dwane Casey was forced to use his starters in big minutes in the second game of a back-to-back because he dare not leave a bench unit on the floor together.
The Pistons are young, so they shouldn’t have a problem playing big minutes when it comes to conditioning, but it leaves them open to injuries, especially to a guy like Jaden Ivey, who hits the floor about 75 times per game on average.
But outside of Jalen Duren (who has been fantastic), the Pistons have gotten next to nothing from their bench.
However, the reason we can’t get too worked up about this is that we’ve not even seen the bench at full strength. Isaiah Livers has played in just one game and will give the second unit a boost, and once Alec Burks and Marvin Bagley III are back, the bench could actually be good.
Their presence will also help Killian Hayes, who has been awful so far this year, but is playing with a group with little shooting or spacing.
This group just needs time to get healthy, but it’s going to be tough for the starters until they do, as right now the bench is killing this team.