Ever since the Golden State Warriors unleashed their so-called “death lineup,” teams have been trying rather unsuccessfully to recreate the magic of that small-ball lineup.
The idea of “small-ball” went out the window as players got taller, and teams realized the Warriors were uniquely suited for that style of play. Everyone shoots 3's now anyway, mostly as a reaction to those teams.
While the Pistons aren’t the Warriors by any means, they are in a position to use small ball lineups that are similar to the ones Golden State used to run teams off the floor.
The Pistons have the elite shooters
The original “death lineup” consisted of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green. It doesn’t have a traditional center, but instead features a point guard, three big wings and whatever you want to call Draymond.
It got even better when they swapped out Barnes for some guy called Kevin Durant.
The Pistons don’t have the Splash Brothers, arguably the two greatest shooters in history, but they have a Temu knock-off in Duncan Robinson and Isaiah Joe, two of the best spot-up 3-point shooters in the game.
They also have big wings in Kevin Huerter, John Collins and Taurean Prince, so that they could run out lineups with no real center that features Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson surrounded by shooters.
It’s not peak Warriors, but a lineup of Cunningham, Joe, Robinson, Thompson and Collins would be tough to deal with in stretches, as they would have shooting all over the floor, as well as the one thing that really made the Warriors group tick.
The Pistons have the all-world and versatile defender
The Warriors were able to get away with this lineup partially because the wings they used all had size, but also because of the defensive brilliance and versatility of Draymond Green.
Green was able to defend up and pretty much guard 1-5, which is what made it possible for the Warriors to go small. He was also a solid rebounder who could make plays with the ball, so he was a matchup nightmare that other teams couldn’t solve with size.
Ausar Thompson and Draymond are very different, but Thompson offers similar versatility and ability to cover the entire floor. He will make it possible for the Pistons to play positionless basketball around Cunningham without getting killed defensively.
He also offers the Pistons a guy who will hopefully be making more plays off the bounce and in the dribble handoff, which is how Draymond was able to create space without being able to shoot.
Thompson makes it easier for guys like Collins, as he will erase a lot of mistakes with blocks and steals from the weak side.
The Pistons won’t be the offensive machine that the Warriors were, but they have their own small-ball lineups that they can use in short bursts to try and overwhelm opponents with shooting and positionless defense.
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