Strengths and weaknesses of 3 possible Pistons starting lineups
By Tyler Dutton
Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Simone Fontecchio, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
The final lineup that JB Bickerstaff could pivot to is easily the largest of the options above. In this case, the trio of Cade/Harris/Duren start again, but Ivey finds himself likely as the 6th man. Ausar Thompson assumes the 2-guard spot, and Fontecchio would occupy the small forward role. In this lineup, Cade would be our smallest player on the court at 6-foot-6. That would be the beauty of it. Everyone in this lineup, theoretically, would be 100 percent switchable. This combination would be truly positionless.
Additionally, thanks to Fontecchio’s average-to-good defending, Ausar’s elite defensive abilities, and Cade’s and Fontecchio’s shooting and Harris’ scoring, there is a great balance of scoring and defending coming from this lineup. As mentioned in our first lineup option, JB has discussed the staggering of Cade and Ivey. What would likely happen in this scenario is, Ausar or Simone would be pulled after five to ten minutes to make way for Ivey. Cade and Ivey would run the offense for a spell, and Cade would eventually come out, allowing for Ivey to act as primary ball handler and initiator.
This is the lineup I hope to see on opening night.