Detroit Pistons: Situational lineups for coach Monty Williams

Detroit Pistons lineups: Small ball

When the Pistons go small ball, they’re not even going to be that small. That’s by design, as Troy Weaver has been stockpiling athletic skyscrapers since day one. No, they haven’t all worked out but they have a lot of options. Let’s begin with the backcourt, which is for sure going to include Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey most of the time. Ivey is set to flourish in Monty Williams’ offense when running the point, but in this instance, he’ll be able to play off the ball and let Monte initiate Monty’s offense. Monte Morris, as we all likely know by now, has a historically great assist-to-turnover ratio for his career. He is also going to thrive in this offense as he can also knock down some triples given his 39.2 percent mark for his career.

Another obvious option is Marcus Sasser, who is, like Morris, 6-foot-2. Whoever takes a seat on the bench in favor of him is hard to say, but Sasser could be a top notch fit in such a lineup.

This is almost the hardest to pinpoint, as small ball lineups are usually heavy on 3-point shooters, beckoning the question: What about Bojan Bogdanovic or Joe Harris? Even Alec Burks, who isn’t small at all for a guard at 6-foot-6, is worth mentioning. Maybe Cade takes a seat in moments like these, and maybe he slides into the front court. It’s definitely conceivable that Cunningham could do so in spurts as his is a solidly built frame that can withstand a bit of pounding.

BEST SMALL BALL LINEUP: Monte Morris, Jaden Ivey, Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart