Detroit Pistons: Predicting the team’s closing lineup in 2018-19
Closing lineups are as important as starting lineups in today’s NBA. The Detroit Pistons need to determine their’s heading into this season.
In the NBA, everyone is so focused on the starting lineup that the closing lineup can be forgotten. The Golden State Warriors showed just a few years ago that your closing lineup is your best lineup, but it might not be your starters. The Detroit Pistons should embrace that thinking this season. New head coach Dwane Casey showed during his time with the Toronto Raptors that he has no issues playing his best possible lineup, even if they aren’t the starters.
The Pistons spent this offseason adding diversity to their wings and backcourt. They’ve made a point to add more shooting and defensive-minded players. Switchable defenses are the new wave of the NBA. Every team has to have a lineup that is strong on both offense and defense.
Due to the roster’s incumbent construction, they didn’t have the ability to do both of these. With Casey in charge and a deeper, more versatile roster in place, the ceiling is much higher.
Last season, at full health, the team’s closing lineup consisted of Reggie Jackson, Reggie Bullock, Stanley Johnson, Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. Ideally, you want your best lineup to feature your best players. For the Pistons, that puts two players, in Drummond and Griffin, that are “archaic” in the modern NBA. Neither are great shooters (although Drummond is attempting to change that this season), and they both struggle with switches.
The team’s most modern lineup would be a combination of Luke Kennard, Bullock, Glenn Robinson III, Johnson and Griffin. If Johnson can develop his 3-point shot, this is a downright scary lineup. Casey should/will experiment with this lineup at some point this year. The issue with this group is that it puts two of the team’s top-three players on the bench. Jackson and Drummond have to be in the team’s closing lineup, right?
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If Casey chooses to go with a Jackson-Griffin-Drummond trio, along with two others, to close out games, his choices are much more narrow. Rather than playing the aforementioned four alongside Griffin, he can only play two of them. Even if Drummond does improve his shooting to become a respectable threat, he won’t be a spot-up player from 3-point range. He’ll still do the majority of his damage around the basket. Shooting is needed with this Big 3.
Kennard has the inside track after a strong rookie season. He shot 41.5 percent from 3-point range, and he is a great complement to Jackson and Griffin. However, he’s limited to defending only the point and shooting guard spots. His main competition at shooting guard is Bullock, who experienced a career year last season. He shot a career-best 44.5 percent from 3-point range, which ranked second in the NBA. He is also a more versatile defender with his increased size.
At small forward, Johnson has struggled to take the proverbial leap through three seasons. He was drafted to be the team’s 3-and-D wing of the future. His D is great, but his 3-point shooting leaves much to be desired. Alongside the other three starters, Casey could be looking for more shooting. Cue the Robinson rumors. A career 38.1 percent 3-point shooter, Robinson would provide that shooting boost Johnson lacks, while still bringing good defense.
Switching and shooting are all over the NBA, and they characterize the majority of team’s closing lineups. Some teams have the luxury of playing five wings. The Pistons are not one of those teams. When looking at the Pistons’ closing lineup, Jackson and Griffin will be in it. Drummond will have to make this 3-point shooting legit, or he could very realistically watch the end of games from the bench.
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To close out the game, Jackson gets the nod at point guard. Kennard and his sweet shooting stroke slot in at shooting guard. Robinson’s shooting gets him the small forward spot over Johnson’s lockdown defense. Griffin plays the power forward spot. To start the season, Drummond will be the fifth player in their closing lineup. However, if Casey sees the need for more switching, Drummond could quickly find his way to the bench to watch the clock run out.