Detroit - At the start of the season, the Detroit Pistons' second unit was considered one of the team's strengths. But myriad injuries left the team's bench with a revolving door of faces, who have struggled to find consistency.
The Pistons didn't really get a chance to develop in-game with veteran guard Frank Jackson, who was expected to have spark plugs off the starting bench in the absence of Cade Cunningham. This delayed Bench's ability to build some chemistry for four games, then Cunningham returned to the lineup.
But the piston didn't get a chance to settle down. The Pistons lost veteran center Kelly Olinic to an MCL sprain for several weeks, forcing the team to use former Pistons, Trey Lyles, as an undersized five. A month later, Jeremy Grant injured his thumb and the Pistons pushed Hamidou Diallo, an energetic force off the bench, to the starting lineup.
Then the Pistons navigated a COVID outbreak, where eight players entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and the team called on several Motor City Cruises players to fill in. A stint in health and safety protocols further delayed Grant's return from injury. , while Olenik entered just two games after his return.
On top of injuries, the recently added Marvin Bagley III has had to adjust to the piston system, although it seems to be quickly finding its footing. Also, with Isaiah Stewart for at least a few other games, Detroit beat Bagley in the starting five.
As with all the movements in the lineup, Detroit has little time to take a detailed look at the various lineups in its second unit.
But on Wednesday, the Pistons' bench gave the pistons indications of the strength it needed. Olinic and Saban Lee gave Detroit a jot and Lee finished the first quarter with 2:17 to tie the game on 20. Grant begins the play by leading Demar DeRozan to the basket on his drive. Lee Dove corrals the loose ball on the floor to push Olenik forward. The experienced center finds Lee biting into the basket and hits him with a quick pass for the layup.
Lee, Olinic and Hamidou Diallo finished the night in double digits, while Rodney McGruder scored nine. But the Pistons lost both Diallo and McGruder to injuries in the middle of the fourth. But Diallo's exit, Olenik said, felt like a turning point.
"I mean it's been a different group of people almost every night," Olinic said. "It's hard to find but I thought Saban did a really good job and hasn't been with us for the past month or so, but he's obviously working a lot in G League. He really came tonight And really set the tempo for us on both ends of the floor, raised 94 feet, pushed the ball aggressively, got us into action, hit hard, finished, and I think it was huge for us. I think you have to give a lot of credit to that unit for setting the pace and just kind of following all the guys like that.
Hami was really good there until he got hit there in the fourth quarter and that was probably -- going back to your second question -- that was probably a turning point as well. When Hami had to be out of the game, it broke our momentum. We were playing really well as a unit and that way we got hurt a little bit. So hopefully he is fine and good to go to the next game."
Head coach Dwayne Casey was pleased with the energy brought in by the Pistons' second unit in the first half, but will look to keep that energy deep in the fourth quarter.
"In the first half, (the bench was strong). I think we had a seven-point lead, and then it went down a bit, but the bench came and gave us a lot of energy,” he said. Hami came back and gave us a lot of energy. Sabo came in and gave us great energy and (Isaiah) the lever. It's a four-quarter game, so when you get to that next stop, you really have to come in and do your job. ,
The Pistons still have 16 games to go to continue ironing out the kinks. Detroit will play the Boston Celtics on Friday night, before returning to Little Caesars Arena to host the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon.