3 Things To Watch For In Detroit Pistons Season Opener
The season begins tonight for the Detroit Pistons. Here's what I'm hoping to see as Detroit looks to avoid another historically bad year of basketball.
The Detroit Pistons play basketball today. Welcoming the Indiana Pacers to Little Caesars Arena tonight, the Pistons open the season hoping to erase the disturbing memories of last season. Instead, new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and a team led by Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris will look to elevate Detroit to relevancy.
Hours away from the first tip-off of the season, here are three things I’m watching for tonight:
J.B. Bickerstaff’s Starting Lineup
Bickerstaff employed several variations of his starting lineup throughout the preseason. He has yet to reveal what his opening night starting five will look like.
The lineup consisted of:
Cade Cunningham
Jaden Ivey
Tobias Harris
Jalen Duren
One spot is seemingly up for grabs. Simone Fontecchio, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. all received starts alongside the above group in the preseason.
So which one of them will get the nod now that the games start to matter?
If it were my decision, I would start Fontecchio – but I don’t believe that will be Bickerstaff’s choice.
Rather, I think he will start Beasley. He is a trusted veteran who provides shooting and a bit more perimeter defense than Hardaway Jr.
With Ausar Thompson out, Fontecchio will have to be the primary backup to Harris, which may also play a factor in him coming off the bench. Bobi Klintman is out as well – leaving Detroit a bit thinner at the bigger forward spot than they’d probably like.
Detroit’s Potential Playmaking Problem
The Pistons are going into the season with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Marcus Sasser as the team’s point guard options. Cunningham and Ivey will likely start the game together in the starting lineup. But what will happen when as the game plays out and Bickerstaff has to start using his bench?
Will he stagger Cunningham and Ivey – making sure at least one of the two is on the court at all times? Will Marcus Sasser get 10-16 minutes off the bench?
I came away from Summer League all the way up through the end of the preseason with the same belief.
Sasser is not ready to lead a second unit on a competitive team. He does not have the play-making abilities to get the team organized and consistently into a half-court offense. He can make some nice passes while on the court, but that is a lot different than running an offense.
Sasser can certainly prove me wrong, but I have been and still am of the belief that Detroit needs to add another playmaker to the roster. They still have an open roster spot to do just that.
Cade Cunningham’s Needed Ascent to Stardom
Cunningham is entering his fourth year in the league. He is a good player. He has not been great…yet.
It is usually a player’s third or fourth year that they “break out”. With a better roster, a trusted head coach, and a clean bill of health, the ecosystem is primed for Cunningham to do just that.
It was not fair to expect Cunningham to win games for Detroit last season. He was coming off a practically lost season after playing just 11 games in his sophomore campaign. The roster around him was horrid. The coaching staff failed miserably to make the most of it.
But things are different now. The best players in the league lead their teams – even flawed ones – to wins. That does not mean the Pistons need to make the playoffs – but they do need to win more games.
If they are winning more, Cunningham is sure to be a key factor in making those wins a reality. If the Pistons are winning more, Cunningham has a much higher chance of being recognized as a top player in the league – an opportunity to make the all-star team for the first time in his career.
The Pistons have been banking on Cunningham to blossom into a star. It’s time he makes good on the franchise's investment in him and catapults himself into the upper echelon of NBA talent.