The Detroit Pistons will head into Philadelphia tonight with a 7-2 record and sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference, but that’s where the good news ends.
The Pistons’ injury report continues to grow, as Isaiah Stewart is listed as doubtful with an ankle injury, and he’ll be joining Jaden Ivey, Marcus Sasser and Tobias Harris, who are all listed as out for tonight’s game.
Caris LeVert is listed as probable, so the Pistons could be missing five regulars from the rotation tonight. LeVert showed some signs in his last appearance, so it would be nice to get him back on a night when the Pistons will need contributions from everyone.
Possibly the most exciting part of the Pistons’ hot start is that they’ve yet to be at full strength, so they should be even better (especially offensively) once they get all of these guys back.
But the games go on anyway, so Detroit will have to embrace a next man up mentality and get contributions from some unexpected places.
Detroit Pistons starting lineup: Going deep into the depth chart
Isaiah Stewart was already filling in for Tobias Harris in the starting lineup, so the Pistons are going to have to dig even deeper into their depth chart.
Bobi Klintman and Paul Reed were each forced into 15 minutes apiece in the win over the Nets, and we’ll likely see one of them or Javonte Green get the start at power forward.
It would be good to see Klintman get another vote of confidence after notching four points and five rebounds for his first scratch of the season.
The Pistons also have newcomer Isaac Jones, who was recently signed, almost as if the Pistons had a premonition about Stewart.
Jones is a long, defensive rim runner who can play either big man spot, so if either Pistons’ center gets into foul trouble, we could see Jones thrust into action tonight even though he’s had no practice time with his new teammates.
The Pistons could also recall Tolu Smith (who played well in Summer League) from the G-League for some emergency action.
Hopefully both Stewart and Harris will be back soon, as their ankle injuries are not thought to be serious, but there is a silver lining to them being out. The Pistons will get some of their deep bench reps and experience that they wouldn’t normally get, and who knows, maybe they’ll find someone who can stick in the rotation.
These players will also be ready if there are injuries later in the season, so it would be big for the Pistons to get a shorthanded win that was assisted by some lesser-known players.