Detroit Pistons: Why the second unit frontcourt is an issue

Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren are awesome. Plain and simple. Playing alongside each other, staggering one or the other with bench players, it’s all starting to work for the young duo. Coach Dwane Casey’s two-big starting frontcourt of Stewart and Duren is beginning to pay dividends. But, the development of the two young bigs, both as starters, has negatively impacted the Detroit Pistons down low once the second group hits the floor.

When playing alongside each other, Stewart and Duren are averaging close to 48 rebounds per 100 possessions. That’s the best mark of any duo that has played a significant amount of time for the Detroit Pistons this season.

The two young studs help Detroit gain some second chance scoring opportunities and take some away from opponents on the defensive end of the floor. Plus, the energy that they bring in the paint will almost certainly be a momentum driver for the Pistons of the future.

This duo is budding into something special. It can potentially be Detroit’s anchor of the future. However, the Stewart-Duren force has hurt rebounding in the bench group, which is of course the nature of playing a two-big starting lineup.

Detroit Pistons: How has starting both Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart impacted the second unit?

In Tuesday’s loss to Utah, the Detroit Pistons mainly played a back-up frontcourt of Marvin Bagley III, Kevin Knox, and Saddiq Bey. None of those three are as good of a rebounder as a Duren, which is a difficult thing to be, however the group needs to be able to stay afloat to avoid games slipping away once the starters need a blow.

Utah’s Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Pistons problems all night, especially on the glass. He led the Jazz with 13 rebounds including four of those coming on the offensive end.

Here, the Pistons struggle to get back in transition, and Bagley allows an easy second chance bucket with a foul as he couldn’t get in front of Vanderbilt.

Bagley should have had more help here as he was the last one to get down the floor. Knox stayed out on the perimeter with Utah guard Jordan Clarkson, which left Pistons guard Alec Burks as the low-man beneath the basket to fight for a rebound against opposing forwards.

It was clear that the Pistons struggled to grab anything off the glass once Stewart and Duren headed to the bench. Once the lineup gets smaller, rebounding will most likely always take a hit. However, the goal for the Pistons should be to not let this hit be drastic to a point where a game is out of reach by the time the starting frontcourt checks back in.

The Bagley and Bey duo, although they are almost certainly not Detroit’s ideal second unit frontcourt of the future, is averaging 40 rebounds per 100 possessions. A mark that is eight less than Stewart and Duren when they are playing alongside each other. The starting frontcourt is a net positive when on the floor, while almost any combination Detroit tries down low off the bench is a net negative.

As this season is already chalked up to a developmental year to grow things like the Stewart-Duren partnership, the drop-off seen in the second group isn’t a major red flag, yet. Longevity in the team’s rotations is something to be seen as the roster gets refined to move into a competitive state.

I’d expect that a rotational big will be a checkbox for GM Troy Weaver during this offseason’s draft or free agency period. A player on a favorable deal, who can come in and add a presence down low, grabbing a handful of rebounds to keep the team afloat until the Stewart-Duren evolving powerhouse can check back in.