Things to look forward to that we haven't seen in Pistons preseason games

Fans are cautiously optimistic after the Detroit Pistons split their first two preseason games. 

For good teams, the preseason is just a tune up for the regular season, but when you are coming off a historically bad year, fans are going to look deeper even though the games don’t ultimately matter. 

The defense and spacing have looked improved at times, as has Jaden Ivey, who has played more efficiently in the preseason campaign so far. Ron Holland II looks ahead of schedule, but Cade Cunningham has looked like he’s been drinking cough syrup before the games, something I hope he snaps out of in the next matchup against the Suns. 

But there have been some things conspicuously absent from the Pistons preseason so far, which we will hopefully see before the games get real or soon after. 

Bobi Klintman 

The Pistons played 15 guys in game two of the preseason, but rookie second-round pick Bobi Klintman was not among them. 

After flashing some shooting ability during Summer League, there was an outside chance of Klintman making the Pistons’ rotation at some point this season as a backup four, a spot where they could use more depth. 

He’s been out with a calf contusion and is still listed as day-to-day on the injury report. It’s very possible he won’t get any preseason action, which would be a shame, as the Pistons desperately need to hit on a later pick or undrafted free agent, something that never happened in the Troy Weaver era. 

Low-cost contributors are vital under the new CBA rules, so I look forward to seeing Klintman in action, as Trajan Langdon has a history of hitting on second-round picks. 

Ron Holland II and Ausar Thompson putting teams in hell 

There is nothing I am looking forward to more than watching Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II terrorizing other teams with their athleticism and defense. 

Thompson is one of the league’s most athletic players and already showed he has All-Defense potential. Holland has also been impressive in preseason, defending all over the court and causing havoc. He’s already been in a couple of minor dust-ups because players didn’t like his aggressive defense. I love that. 

These are two of my favorite players to watch, and it’s going to be interesting to see them unleashed at the same time. Given their versatility on defense and plus rebounding, the Pistons can run small lineups at times and put three shooters around them to balance their lack of long-range shots. 

The Pistons aren’t going to shoot their way into relevancy, they will have to defend to be competitive and I can’t wait to watch these two together.  

Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris 

Harris has been sidelined with an illness so far in the preseason, so we haven’t gotten to see the Pistons’ biggest offseason addition with their best player. 

Cunningham should benefit from increased spacing, but only if Harris doesn’t camp out in the mid-range and clog things up, so I am curious to see how Harris is going to adjust to shooting more three-point shots to increase spacing. 

Ideally, he’ll be taking 6-7 a game to spread the floor for Cade and Ivey to go to work, but we won’t know until Harris back in there. 

Harris and Cade should also be able to run a solid pick-and-roll, as both are a threat to shoot it from anywhere on the floor, so I am looking forward to them getting some reps soon.