It has already been a bizarre season for the Detroit Pistons, as a plethora of injuries have forced them to use nearly everyone, yet they are still off to a 10-2 start and riding an eight-game winning streak. Due to the numerous injuries, lineup numbers are difficult to gauge at this point, but the small sample size suggests a different future for the Pistons.
One lineup stands out as particularly bad, and that’s the most commonly used starting five of Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Duncan Robinson, Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren, which has a -11.9 net rating, by far the worst of any lineup that has played more than 20 minutes total together this season.
One lineup tweak changes that number significantly and may point to the future for the Detroit Pistons.
Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland with the starting five
If you replace Tobias Harris with Isaiah Stewart in that same starting lineup, the Pistons have a +16.6 net rating, a 28.5-point swing and the two lineups aren’t that far apart in minutes together on the court now that Harris has missed five games and counting.
If you replace Harris with Ron Holland and leave the rest the same, the Pistons have a +28.6 net rating even though the sample size with Holland isn’t as big.
It points to the defense Stewart and Holland provide with Cade, Thompson, Robinson and Duren being more important than the offense and rebounding of Harris. This isn’t to say he’s not valuable to the Pistons, because he obviously is in several ways.
But his expiring contract will almost have to be used if the Pistons make a big trade, so knowing that Stewart and Holland can not only replace his production but better it, is nice for Detroit, as Harris may not be with the team past the trade deadline.
We haven’t seen the true starting five for the Pistons, as Jaden Ivey still hasn’t played and he would have had the spot currently occupied by Duncan Robinson, but this is nothing new, as the Pistons have scarcely seen their “full core” play together because of Ivey’s injuries.
The numbers show that the Pistons either need Ivey back or need to make some other change, as they have been awful in 1st quarters this season, with the 21st net rating in the NBA, the only quarter in which they don’t have a positive net rating overall.
Even after the Pistons are healthy, they may have to take a look at moving either Stewart or Holland into the starting five over Harris to avoid the slow starts that have plagued them this season.