The Pistons lineup change Monty Williams needs to make right now

The Detroit Pistons have finally found a starting lineup, but it's becoming clear it might not be the right one.

Fans and media pundits have been baffled by some of Monty Williams' moves this season, though he finally got his rotation down to a manageable size.

Monty recently committed to using Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren as his starting lineup after Beef Stew finally returned from his ankle injury and suspension.

Fans have been waiting all season to see the "Core 4" (I absolutely hate this name), but many would love to see Stewart come off the bench as the backup big, and there is mounting evidence that is exactly what should happen.

Detroit Pistons lineups: The narrative vs. reality

Isaiah Stewart went right back to the starting four position, largely because the Pistons' overall defense and rebounding are better when he is in there.

But starting two bigs who are not shooters hasn't worked offensively and the defense is even worse.

The five-man lineup of Cade, Ivey, Ausar, Stewart and Duren have played 12 games together totalling 116 minutes.

In that time, they have an offensive rating of 109.1 and a defensive rating of 120 for a net rating of -10.9, the worst of the top five most-used lineups this season.

If you swap out Stewart for newcomer Simone Fontecchio, the Detroit Pistons have been better at both ends.

In nine games with the five-man lineup of Cade, Ivey, Ausar, Fontecchio and Duren, which totals 110 minutes, the Pistons have an offensive rating of 111.1 and a defensive rating of 108.0 for a +2.2 net rating, the highest for the team and the only positive net rating for any five-man lineup of players that are still on the roster.

Many fans (and probably Monty Williams) might be surprised to see that the lineups with Fontechhio have been better defensively in nearly the same number of minutes, though the sample sizes are still small.

Fontechhio played well again last night, and it would be nice to see him back in the starting five, even if that means bringing one of Stewart or Duren off the bench. If Stewart is the best big-man defender (and he is) then why not try him more with lineups that also have Fontecchio?

Even if Williams insists on keeping Duren in the starting five (fine), why not try the Core 4 with Fontecchio a bit more for the rest of the season and see what Stewart can do as a small-ball five, which many think is his more natural position?

The Pistons only have 21 games remaining to figure some things out for next season, and considering Fontecchio is a free agent, it would be smart to use him as much as possible with the core guys to get more data before making a decision. There's also evidence that the Pistons are better when he's in there.