Projected Pistons depth chart & rotation entering the regular season

One of the biggest complaints fans of the Detroit Pistons had about coach Monty Williams was that he never settled on rotation and stuck with it. 

He’d talk about tightening things up and then run out 11 players in the first quarter, with a roster that barely had five competent players. 

The results spoke for themselves, as the Pistons stunk and the young players never got into a rhythm, had established roles or regular minutes. 

Things already look different for the Pistons this season, as JB Bickerstaff established a relatively clear 9-man rotation before games even got real. 

There are still some questions about who is going to start, but with Ausar Thompson still sidelined indefinitely, these are the nine players we are likely to see the most of early in the season. 

Detroit Pistons rotation and depth chart 

The only real questions about the rotation heading into the season are who is going to start in place of Ausar Thompson at small forward and who is going to play more minutes between rookie Ron Holland II and veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. 

It’s likely we’ll see Simone Fontecchio or THJ starting early, with the possibility of running three guards with Malik Beasley. Regardless of who starts, the depth chart will look something like this: 

-Cade Cunningham 

-Jaden Ivey/Malik Beasley 

-Simone Fontecchio/Ron Holland/Tim Hardaway. Jr. 

-Tobias Harris 

-Jalen Duren/Isaiah Stewart 

Of the three options on the wing, Fontecchio is likely to see the most minutes even if he doesn’t start. I wouldn’t be surprised to see THJ start, but he’ll be the first to the bench, especially if he isn’t hitting shots. I could see Fontecchio and Holland playing more minutes off the bench. 

We’ll also get small amounts of Marcus Sasser and Paul Reed, especially if anyone gets into foul trouble, but the bulk of the minutes will be played by the nine guys above. 

It will be interesting to see how Ausar Thompson fits into all of this when he finally returns (whenever that is) and who gets bumped from the rotation when he does.  

It’s an unfamiliar problem for the Pistons, as they finally have some talent and competition on the wing. Will Holland’s defense win out over the theoretical shooting of THJ? 

Given that the Pistons have a brutal six games to start the season, we may see more of the veteran as coach Bickerstaff tries to keep his young team from falling into a deep hole, but after what we saw in preseason, Holland could play his way into big minutes sooner than expected. 

Getting the young players into clearly defined roles will be paramount for their development and the overall success of the team.