Wild lineup idea shows advantage Pistons must explore

In addition to being bad, the Detroit Pistons have been a very predictable and boring team over the last several seasons. 

This was especially true last year, when Monty Williams couldn’t tap into his creativity to find ways to use his roster to his advantage. 

With more shooters on board next season, the offense should have more space and more chances to be creative with how they use some of their guys. 

The player on the top of this list is second-year wing Ausar Thompson, who was woefully misused last season by former coach Williams. 

On offense, Thompson was often relegated to the corner even though his 3-point shot is a work in progress and he’s shown he can be dynamic in the pick-and-roll as the screener or with the ball. 

On defense, the Pistons never tapped into Thompson’s versatility to create mismatches or force the other team to adjust. 

If you look at how the Houston Rockets used Amen Thompson last season, it was night and day between how the Pistons misused Ausar. 

A recent article in Bleacher Report gave a “wildest” lineup for every team, and the group they came up with for the Pistons shows an advantage Detroit can tap into. 

Detroit Pistons lineups: Getting more creative with Ausar Thompson 

Ausar Thompson is already my favorite Pistons player to watch, as he is an athletic marvel who can do things on the court that a lot of people can’t. He also plays hard all of the time and is committed to defense, which is the exact type of player I generally gravitate towards. 

This B/R lineup would tap into some of his versatility and allow the Pistons to create problems for other teams: 

-Cade Cunningham 

-Malik Beasley 

-Simone Fontecchio 

-Tobias Harris 

-Ausar Thompson 

At first glance this looks wonky, as there isn’t a real center on the floor, but it would unlock some possibilities for Ausar Thompson.