The Detroit Pistons have more continuity entering the season than any of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, so should have fewer questions.
We already got early glimpses at the Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson improvements we wanted to see, so most of the remaining questions around the Pistons are focused on the bench and fringes of the rotation, including exactly how many players are going to be in it.
How many players will be in the Pistons rotation?
The answer to this will likely change from night to night, but we saw last season that JB Bickerstaff is not afraid to use his entire roster if needed.
It wasn’t uncommon to see 11-12 players last year in the regular season, and I imagine things won’t be much different this year, as the Pistons are arguably even deeper.
The starting five will be Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, John Collins and Jalen Duren with Paul Reed, Isaiah Joe and Ron Holland the first off the bench most nights, but beyond that, we’ll have to wait on JB Bickerstaff.
With Daniss Jenkins, Ebuka Okorie, Kevin Huerter, Javonte Green and Taurean Prince all fighting for minutes, the Pistons have 13 guys, which means more NBA players than minutes.
Tolu Smith looks like a reserve NBA player and even Chaz Lanier looks to be improved, so coach Bickerstaff has plenty of depth, but it will be on him to figure out how to best deploy it and make it into a weapon rather than a hindrance.
Is Ebuka Okorie going to play?
Ebuka Okorie was electric in preseason, and while you can’t judge too much by exhibition games, he’s going to be difficult to keep out of the lineup if he can score in bunches like we have seen so far.
This has less to do with Daniss Jenkins and more to do with Okorie, who looks poised beyond his years and potentially ready to make an impact right away.
If Okorie does get early minutes, they don’t necessarily have to come at the expense of Daniss Jenkins, but would JB Bickerstaff play the two of them together?
Okorie has given the Pistons a great problem to have, and JB Bickerstaff may have to find ways to get him in there.
Was Kevin Huerter’s role more of a preseason tryout?
Kevin Huerter was one of the first Pistons off the bench in preseason, so I am curious whether that’s going to be a thing in the regular season or if Detroit was just giving him more of a tryout.
I’m leaning towards the former, as the Pistons didn’t pay Huerter $9 million a season just to ride the bench and he could potentially provide some additional shot creation and playmaking, particularly with Jalen Duren when Cade Cunningham is on the bench.
Because he has more offensive versatility, Huerter could carve out a niche for himself coming off the bench and end up being far more important than we originally expected, but we’ll have to wait until Tuesday to see if that role is for real.
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