The Detroit Pistons are terrible and there is no other way to say it.
At 9-51, they are tied for the worst record in the NBA and are likely to log the worst record in team history, failing to meet even the modest expectations placed on them this season.
There is little left to play for (unless trying to get your coach fired counts), so the Pistons may as well use these last miserable games to experiment.
I don't expect any of these things to happen, but a man can dream.
Detroit Pistons rotation: Eight players and a G-Leaguer
We've debated and complained about Monty Williams' rotations all season and that's unlikely to stop, though he has implemented some of the things we've wanted to see, like using Isaiah Stewart as a small-ball center. It only took him 60 games.
The Pistons only have eight players under contract for next season, so they should be playing them as the core of their rotation and splashing in a new G-League player every few games to see if one sticks.
The eight-man rotation should include Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Simone Fontecchio, Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren, Marcus Sasser and Quentin Grimes plus the G-Leaguer du jour. That's it.
We don't need to see James Wiseman, Evan Fournier, Troy Brown Jr. or Malachi Flynn again this season, as they shouldn't be on the team next year and if they are, everyone involved with that decision should be fired.
Play eight guys big minutes, spot the G-Leaguers some time and forget the rest.
Send one of Isaiah Stewart or Jalen Duren to the bench
Most modern NBA teams (except for Cleveland) aren't starting two centers and in the case of the Cavaliers, both of theirs are elite defenders.
The Pistons don't have that luxury, so stop with this nonsense already. Stewart is a center, so make him the primary backup, or send Jalen Duren to the bench and make him a starter.
I would experiment with both, as the Pistons need Stewart's defense on the floor, but the offensive spacing is so terrible it's a net loss for Detroit if Stewart, Duren and Ausar are all out there.
Some fans would balk at the idea of benching Duren, but he's not been good enough defensively despite his scoring and rebounding numbers. Maybe bringing him off the bench for a few games would spark something in him, who knows?
The Pistons started to get something going with Simone Fontecchio in the starting lineup but immediately went away from it once Stewart came back, either because Monty Williams foolishly thinks this two-big nonsense can work, or because the Pistons are trying to keep Fontecchio from getting an incentive-based bonus of $2 million for games started.
Neither option is a good look for the Detroit Pistons, who have to give up on the idea that Stewart, Duren and Thompson can start together. They won't, but we can dream.
Go small
The Pistons have the potential to put out fun and exciting lineups for stretches that can create mismatches and get them playing with more pace and shooting.
Why not try some small ball?
I would use a lineup of Cade, Ivey, Grimes, Fontecchio and Stewart just to see what happened.
We still haven't seen what the two guards look like with three guys who can shoot around them and it could open things up.
I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas of how to make this team watchable for the last 20+ games, but it can't just be more of the same, as their coach is losing the team and they aren't even getting data they can use to build the roster for next season.
For the Detroit Pistons, doing the things that most teams would have tried already amounts to a "wild experiment" which tells you exactly how poorly this team has been managed and coached this season.