Tough conversations with Monty Williams
5. What's with these all-bench lineups?
As you may have noticed, coach, your bench stinks. It wasn't great to begin with but the entire group is in a shooting slump right now, so why in the world would you ever put all-bench lineups on the floor? One of Cade Cunningham or Bojan Bogdanovic needs to be out there at all times, especially to start the 4th quarter. Look at the +/-, coach, these all-bench groups are killing your team right now. You have players in Isaiah Livers and Alec Burks who are not playable at the moment. Don't get me wrong, coach, I like those guys too and I get it, but they are part of the problem and something has to change.
6. How can you fix these 4th-quarter issues?
Your team was outscored 34-18 in the 4th quarter last night, which has become a regular occurrence. They just seem to fall apart in the 4th and the numbers support it, as the Pistons have the second worst 4th-quarter margin in the league. Suddenly your offense grinds to a halt, and it all becomes Cade Cunningham dribbling around and taking tough shots. Is this by design? Is your team playing scared? What kinds of adjustments are you going to make to stop your team from wilting in the 4th quarter every game?
7. Any chance we'll see any of the G-League guys?
I know this isn't your call, per se, but would you consider giving someone else a shot off your bench? Alec Burks hasn't made a shot since he came back from injury. Isaiah Livers has been terrible. Marcus Sasser is in an extended slump. Meanwhile, Stanley Umude has shot over 50 percent from long range in his short time with the team and is killing it in the G-League, shooting over 42 percent on nearly nine attempts per game. Your bench needs a spark. It needs some shooting. You have three two-way players in the G-League who are all shooting upwards of 40 percent from long range on high volume. Would it hurt to give them a chance?
8. I'll ask again: Are you sure you want to do this?