JB Bickerstaff has been making a colossal mistake these past few games: He’s not starting with big lineups, and the Detroit Pistons have been suffering. The Pistons have lost four games in a row, and in the last three, they’ve been playing without Ausar Thompson (who got hurt two minutes into their loss to the San Antonio Spurs).
However, instead of replicating what has worked so well for the Pistons—playing big and relying on defense—Bickerstaff has opted to go a different route. He’s putting out much smaller lineups. In the last two games, Marcus Sasser has earned the start in place of Thompson, and the bench unit is pretty small, too.
Detroit hasn’t been the same.
Pistons aren't doubling down on defense with Ausar Thompson out
Obviously, losing Thompson is painful. He’s such a huge part of what the Pistons want to accomplish, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Not having him in the lineup is going to hurt no matter what.
But what has made the Pistons so successful this year has been their defense. So, by going small while Thompson is out of the rotation, Bickerstaff is ignoring that part of the formula.
Sasser is a great offensive player, but he doesn’t bring much on the defensive end, especially when compared to what Thompson is able to provide on that side of the ball.
Even in the Spurs game, when Thompson did start, Bickerstaff ran a tiny bench unit. Javonte Green, Kevin Huerter, Daniss Jenkins, and Caris LeVert got a bulk of the minutes.
Isaiah Stewart was the backup center, per usual, and Ron Holland only played 11:48. That’s a tiny lineup, especially when playing without Thompson’s size.
Detroit just gave up 121 points to the Miami Heat on Sunday. Tyler Herro had 25 points, Bam Adebayo put up 24, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 19 off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Pistons rolled out Sasser in the starting lineup, played Huerter 22 minutes off the bench, and Green and Jenkins for 15 apiece.
All of those players are good players. They can all be part of the Pistons’ rotation. But not having Thompson’s defensive presence is a problem that needs a solution.
And Bickerstaff failing to roll out defense-first lineups is part of the problem.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe Bickerstaff doesn’t trust Holland enough to play him heavy minutes to be a defensive presence. Maybe he doesn’t want to run Stewart and Jalen Duren together for extended stretches. Maybe the Pistons just don’t have enough defensive depth.
But regardless, they should be doubling down on defense with Thompson out. In any way they can.