The Detroit Pistons will get their preseason started today in Little Caesar’s Arena vs. the Phoenix Suns.
You can find all of the television and streaming info here.
It will be Monty Williams’ first game as head coach and first shot at his old team, as Williams was fired by the Suns before the Pistons made him the highest-paid coach in the league.
The game will mark the return of Cade Cunningham, which Pistons fans have been waiting for since the 12th game of last season.
Aside from Cade, there are plenty of other storylines fans are interested to see as the 2023-23 season tips off.
Poise
You expect some sloppy basketball in the preseason, especially in the first game, but it’s something the Pistons need to overcome.
They played hard last season, but were often undisciplined and made youthful errors, something we hope to see reduced right away. Detroit needs to limit turnovers, stop fouling so much and reduce the number of mental lapses they have on defense.
Monty Williams has stressed that his young team needs to play with more poise, and has implemented a few things in practice to test that.
Getting Cade Cunningham back will help, as will the addition of Monte Morris in the backcourt. But the Pistons need smarter, more disciplined basketball from everyone, especially Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, James Wiseman and Killian Hayes, who were all guilty of taking risks on defense that led to easy buckets last season.
A surprise starter for the Pistons?
The Pistons have already suffered injuries to Isaiah Livers and Bojan Bogdanovic, which is not an ideal way to start the season.
Hopefully, Bogdanovic’s injury is minor and he won’t have to miss any of the regular season, but Livers has already been ruled out for 6-8 weeks.
This opens the door for a surprise starter vs. the Suns and there are several candidates for the job. Fans are hoping to see the debut of Ausar Thompson and many think he should be starting anyway, so this gives him a chance to show how he can impact games.
But we could also see coach Williams use Alec Burks or Joe Harris in that role in order to mimic the shooting of Bogdanovic. We may just see them all:
Monty said he may go with multiple different starting lineups during preseason. Could even change that he starting 5 at halftime
— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) October 7, 2023
The injury to Bogdanovic adds more intrigue, as he was almost certain to be in the starting five. It will also have a ripple effect on the bench, so we may see coach Williams experiment with an array of different groups.
The only silver lining to these injuries is that some of the younger players will get more preseason reps.
Small-ball lineups
A lot has been made this offseason about the possibility of lineups featuring two bigs, but I am far more interested in the Pistons going small.
Detroit suddenly has a nice collection of 3-point shooters, though that depth did take a hit with the loss of Bogdanovic and Livers.
But Detroit can still go small and surround Cade with players like Monte Morris, Alec Burks, Joe Harris and Isaiah Stewart in order to get as much shooting as possible on the floor.
Cade has never had those kinds of floor spreaders around him, so I am curious to see what he can do in four-out halfcourt sets where he has plenty of space to operate.
His ability to facilitate and score in the mid-range should make small-ball lineups hard to stop in short spurts. Defensively they probably wouldn’t be able to get away with it long, but the Pistons have a chance to create matchup problems with their shooters and Cade.
Defensive intensity
I don’t expect this team to suddenly be great defensively, as they have too many players who just aren’t great individual defenders yet.
Even with a 19-year-old anchoring the defense (with two poor defenders behind him), two young guards who are not yet great defenders, two guys in Bogdanovic and Harris who couldn’t guard me and a rookie on the wing, Monty Williams has still stressed defense this offseason.
He may not have the roster for this team to be a top-10 defense, but they can still play smart, poised defense and dial up the intensity.
Ausar Thompson should help cover some of the flaws on the perimeter, but defense is a team effort, so I want to see coach Williams’ words turned into action on the court. They need to limit mistakes, but also use their athletic advantages to harass ballhandlers, get into passing lanes for steals and get out in transition.
The Pistons were 27th in fast break points per game last season, mostly because they didn’t get stops and were constantly taking the ball out of the net. I want to see players flying around, communicating, crashing the defensive boards, limiting wide-open shots and defensive lapses and turning it into easier transition opportunities.
Pistons fans want to see a rejuvenated dedication to defense even if the results aren’t immediately there.
Some minutes with Killian Hayes and Marcus Sasser
Of course fans are excited to see Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey in the backcourt, but I’m also very interested in see minutes with Killian Hayes and Marcus Sasser sharing the floor.
Both players get after it defensively and could be difference-makers off the bench together. Sasser is better off the ball and Killian is better on it, so they can work offensively while potentially giving the Pistons a lockdown backcourt.
Count me as someone who is dying to see these two in some minutes with Ausar Thompson, as they can lock down the perimeter with their defense.
It’s also not too early to be thinking about the future, as the Pistons have a load of expiring contracts (including Alec Burks, Monte Morris, Joe Harris and Killian Hayes), so this is a first audition for guard spots moving forward.
With Livers and Bogdanovic out, Williams has more minutes to experiment and I am hoping to see some of the two young guards together.