Pistons news: Detroit finally tried it and fans lost it

The Detroit Pistons put up a good fight against the Denver Nuggets before eventually losing by 19, but the loss is not what everyone is talking about.

We finally got to see the much clamored about pairing of Jalen Duren and James Wiseman, which fans have been asking for since Detroit traded Saddiq Bey to acquire the young center.

The Pistons’ two-bigs lineup experiment has been a flop so far, but injuries have prevented the duo that everyone wanted to see. Eugene Omoruyi’s foul trouble forced Dwane Casey’s hand last night and we finally got to see Duren and Wiseman get their first real run together.

There were some exciting moments, but given some fan reactions (on Twitter, which I admit is not the best place for well-balance takes) you’d think the Detroit Pistons didn’t lose the game by 19 points while only scoring 100 themselves. I absolutely get it, as there is little to be excited about this season and there were some compelling plays with the two young centers on the floor.

I definitely don’t want to be the wet blanket that dampens any amount of entertainment we can squeeze out of a team that is 16-55, but we probably need to pump the brakes just a bit.

Detroit Pistons: James Wiseman and Jalen Duren

Jalen Duren and James Wiseman have only played 10 minutes together, so there obviously isn’t enough data to make any kind of sweeping statements about whether it will ultimately work.

They did have their moments, including two nifty alley oops from Duren to Wiseman. Duren finished with four assists and three of them led to Wiseman buckets, which is promising.

But there were still massive spacing issues on offense and the team only had an 88.9 offensive rating with the two on the floor. Coupled with their 116.7 defensive rating, that led to a -27.8 net rating, again SUPER SMALL SAMPLE SIZE.

There’s also the fact that the Detroit Pistons were missing all of their best shooters (except the red-hot Rodney McGruder) so there were going to be spacing issues no matter who was on the floor.

Caveats aside, there is really no evidence that playing two bigs who can’t shoot is a way to succeed in the NBA in 2023. Sure, it’s possible Wiseman will develop a serviceable jumper, or even a 3-point shot, but even if he did, that’s not going to fix the issues the two of them have on defense.

It was nice to see last night (sort of), but count me as very skeptical this can work over the course of a season. I’d far prefer the Pistons to go into the offseason with the idea that Duren is their starting center (he’s already way better, what am I missing here?), Wiseman is his backup and build the rest of the roster from there.