The Detroit Pistons will host their first playoff game at home on Sunday, April 19 at 6:30 pm.
Throughout the 2025-26 regular season, the Detroit Pistons reached their lofty perch atop the Eastern Conference by bucking several trends that had begun to exist as well-established fixtures of modern basketball. When other teams zigged towards a perimeter-based offensive philosophy, the Pistons zagged in the direction of a defense-based squad that thrives on pressure and physicality en route to a 60-win campaign.
Using that blueprint, the Pistons ripped off a 13-game winning streak in November while latching hold of the one seed in the East for the remainder of the season. So, Detroit is no stranger to diverging from popular basketball norms in their pursuit of an NBA Championship, but one reality of postseason basketball is difficult to ignore– the bench shortens as rotations restrict during crunch time.
For most of the year, the Pistons have used a liberal substitution pattern that put their reserve players, such as Daniss Jenkins and Paul Reed, in positions to influence the outcome of games during the regular season so that they’ll be ready to perform if and when their number is called during the playoffs. But when the Pistons begin the postseason this Sunday as a relatively healthy unit, the team will encounter a new dilemma– how to distribute 48 minutes to five players at a time in a productive fashion?
Fortunately, this is a predicament that Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is well-acquainted with since he saw indications of Detroit’s extensive depth all the way back during the pre-season.
“The competitiveness in our training camp, the amount of guys who showed what they were capable of and how they could help us on both ends of the court, we left there as coaches with some very difficult decisions that had to be made as far as who would be able to be in the rotation night in, night out, and we knew that we had a deep team,” Bickerstaff said. “We knew that we had a bunch of guys who were committed to playing a style of basketball that we thought could be successful”
As for the Pistons’ postseason rotation, Jenkins is likely to operate as the team’s back up point guard after his mid-season emergence. Marcus Sasser has shown the ability to play an up-tempo style with a perimeter threat off the bench, but Jenkins offers a steadiness that the Pistons look to favor at this stage.
From a team-wide perspective, Duncan Robinson started the most games for Detroit this year at 77, while Ausar Thompson was not far behind with 72 starts to his credit. Both players are entrenched as starters in Motown, so their roles are locked in by now, as is the case for Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris. That five-man group will be the starting lineup when they’re all available.
Over the final month of the regular season, Kevin Huerter has demonstrated that he can help the Pistons on both ends of the court with an improved three-point shot, secondary playmaking ability and turnover-creating tendencies on defense to boot. Huerter has hit triples at a 38.5% rate in the month of April, so look for Red Velvet to continue logging regular minutes off the bench throughout the first round.
In terms of the Pistons’ big men, Isaiah Stewart has solidified himself as one of the premier defensive rim protectors in the NBA, so there is no world where Beef Stew does not factor heavily into Detroit’s postseason rotation. Along those lines, Reed has a strong case to grade out as the league’s most impactful third-string center, so the Pistons likely won’t shy away from rotating their big men if foul trouble or injuries happen to arise.
But along the wings, Ron Holland and Javonte Green have both added value to the Pistons’ second unit with their aggression and defensive chops. The only speed that Holland knows how to operate at is 100 miles per hour, while Green has been a model of reliability as the only Piston to play in all 82 games during the regular season. So, that dynamic duo have relatively secure roles entering the playoffs in the Motor City.
Caris LeVert also averages over 19 minutes per night, but he may be the odd man out who receives a noticeable reduction in playing time during the playoffs. LeVert is hovering as the No. 10 man in Detroit’s rotation from a minutes perspective with Green right behind him, and the nine or 10-man level is oftentimes where playoff teams draw the line. Bickerstaff has found a way to make it work for the Pistons all season long, and he has a few more days to fine-tune Detroit’s gameplan before the playoffs begin this weekend.
The biggest change for the Pistons' rotation, however, is likely to occur on the fringe. At times, Detroit has won games so handedly this season that they've been able to sprinkle Chaz Lanier, Tolu Smith and Isaac Jones into games here and there. Those opportunities will likely evaporate in the postseason as the Pistons condense their operation.
As for the Pistons’ eventual opponent in the first round, the Philadelphia 76ers are taking on the Orlando Magic right now for the opportunity to battle it out with the Charlotte Hornets. The winner of that game will face Detroit on Sunday, April 19 at 6:30 pm.
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