Pistons' biggest strength quickly turning into a weakness

If you had to name the Detroit Pistons’ two biggest strengths, defense would be first and depth would be second, but lately, that depth has betrayed them. 

The Pistons’ bench was terrible again last night outside of Ron Holland, who scored 12 points in just 15 minutes but disappeared to the bench for most of the second half. 

Daniss Jenkins has been struggling mightily of late, Caris LeVert continues to stink and now has me wondering if he has some kind of blackmail on coach JB Bickerstaff. We’ve been seeing less of Javonte Green, whose lack of offensive game is starting to catch up to him as the Pistons look for points any way they can get them. 

It got so dire last night that coach Bickerstaff turned to the rarely used Marcus Sasser, who went 0-3 and had two turnovers. To be fair to Sasser, he hasn’t played meaningful minutes in weeks and got thrown into a close game late in the third quarter after not having played all game, which is not easy. 

The depth that we talked about all season is suddenly looking thin, and you have to wonder where bench points are going to come from in the playoffs. I do think Daniss Jenkins has the big-game gene that he showed last night, which is positive, and we also have to remember that the Pistons are not at full strength. 

The Detroit Pistons miss Isaiah Stewart 

Isaiah Stewart is still serving his suspension for coming off the bench to try and sort Miles Bridges, and he has one more game remaining before he’ll be back. 

That means he’ll return next week on the road against these same Cavaliers, and it can’t come soon enough for the Pistons, whose bench has fallen apart without him. 

It’s not as if Stewart is an offensive force, but he does get a few easy buckets in the lane every game, sets great screens and keeps the rotation consistent, which may be the most important part. 

With him out, the Pistons have to find 20-25 minutes somewhere else, which has meant more time for LeVert mostly, and the results haven’t been great. 

The bench has been a strength all season, but there are understandable concerns about how they are playing right now and whether they will be good enough in the playoffs. 

It isn’t time to panic, especially with Stewart returning soon, but coach JB Bickerstaff is going to have to continue to tinker with his rotation and find the hot hand. The bench is slumping now, but the Pistons have to hope they get going again as a unit before the playoffs start.