The Detroit Pistons have lost two of three games to start the season and there is plenty of blame to go around.
But the biggest reason is the bench, which has been outscored 124-51 over the last two games, getting little contribution from anyone not named Jalen Duren. The starters are all averaging double digits, but there is a big drop off on the bench once you get past Duren, who is currently 5th among rookies in scoring with just under 10 per game.
Isaiah Livers is back, and he should provide a boost as he gets into the flow, which is good news because Kevin Knox looked bad in his two appearances.
With Alec Burks and Marvin Bagley III out, the Pistons’ bench is going to struggle to score points, as they just don’t have anyone who can consistently get buckets. Dwane Casey is already at the point where he absolutely cannot play full bench units without them getting run off the floor, so we’ll likely see more staggering of the starters tonight against Washington.
Until Burks and MBIII are back, Dwane Casey may have to consider shaking things up a bit to get more scoring into his second unit. The problem is, where does it come from? His only real options are Braxton Key (who has been assigned to the G-League) and veteran Rodney McGruder.
McGruder played sparingly last season but he did shoot the ball well and score points when he did get in there, so will Casey get him some run tonight to try and generate more offense off the bench?
I think the fact that we are talking about Rodney “freaking” McGruder as a possible bench savior is probably not a good sign, but sadly, he could be an upgrade.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes is struggling
The first option would be to bench Killian Hayes which I think is very unlikely, as the Pistons don’t really have another backup point guard, though Cory Joseph can handle the job.
To say Killian has shot the ball poorly this season would be a gross understatement, as he has hit just 11 percent of his 3-point shots and a paltry 16 percent overall.
Hayes at least offers some defense and passing, but at some point he is going to have to make shots to stay in the rotation long term. His shot looks completely out of whack (even for him) but as I said, he at least brings other things to the table, and given the Pistons’ lack of options, Hayes will likely be in there until further notice.
Hamidou Diallo could get benched
Hamidou Diallo is another bench player who is struggling mightily right now, shooting just 20 percent overall and a whopping 0 percent from 3-point range, as he’s yet to make one.
Unlike Hayes, Diallo doesn’t do much else when he’s out there, as he is not a very good team defender outside of flashing for risky steals, and teams just sag off him and let him shoot, which doesn’t help their already terrible spacing in the second unit.
Diallo is struggling and has already lost his spot in the rotation more or less, so why not give McGruder those minutes? He can at least hit a shot and provides some kind of offensive threat, which could help create some space for Killian Hayes that doesn’t currently exist.
Until the Detroit Pistons get back to full strength, Dwane Casey is going to have to find ways to get some points out of the second unit or Detroit will be in a huge hole by the time their injured players get back.