Troy Weaver had a vision for the Detroit Pistons that included building around defense with two big men in the starting lineup. It was declared a failure after the Pistons finished with the worst record in franchise history with Isaiah Stewart as the starting power forward.
We thought that idea was a wrap, especially after Stewart thrived in the backup center role last season, but there are signs that Troy Weaver may have been right all along.
The league is getting bigger every season, and more and more teams are running out lineups that include two bigs. The Pistons have already played several of them this season in Houston, Cleveland, Orlando, Dallas, Memphis and last night against Utah.
An injury to Tobias Harris has forced Isaiah Stewart back into the starting five and so far, the results have been positive, as the Pistons won both games, and both Stewart and Duren played well together.
It may be a glimpse into the future for the Pistons, as Harris is on an expiring contract, so now is the perfect time to see if Troy Weaver’s vision was the correct one all along.
Two bigs worked better than you remember for the Detroit Pistons
Having Duren and Stewart on the court became a point of focus for fans who were obsessed with spacing and shooting.
The offense was bad under Monty Williams, but there were plenty of factors involved that had nothing to do with Stewart and Duren playing together. The first was Williams himself, who put on one of the worst coaching displays I’ve ever seen and never really seemed to arrive in Detroit. He started Killian Hayes repeatedly over Jaden Ivey. Enough said.
Cade Cunningham hadn’t made his superstar leap yet, they didn’t have Ausar Thompson for most of the season and the role players around the young core were old and awful.
Even with all of that, Duren and Stewart finished the season with a positive +/- as a duo, one of the only pairs on the team to accomplish this feat in a 14-win season.
It’s a small sample size, but the pair have been dominant in this season. The Pistons are a team-best +30.5 in the 35 minutes last night’s starting five have played together. To put that in perspective, they are –11.9 when you replace Stewart with Harris in the starting five.
So far this season, the Pistons’ best five-man lineup includes both Stewart and Duren and it may be a glimpse of the future once Tobias Harris has been traded, leaves as a free agent or returns to Detroit as a bench player.
Stewart and Duren have played 74 minutes together this season and are +19.7, and the team has a defensive rating of just under 100 with the two of them on the floor.
The sample size is still small, so we obviously need to see more (and against better teams) but all signs are pointing to Troy Weaver being right. As maligned as he was after being fired (rightfully so), Weaver was the one who drafted most of the Pistons’ roster and does deserve some credit for having a vision that is now coming to fruition.