The Detroit Pistons will have several new faces in the lineup when the 2026-27 season opens up, but how does this group compare to their 60-win unit from last year?
During the summer months, the Detroit Pistons were faced with the task of retooling their squad after a premature exit from the NBA Playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. At that time, the Pistons struggled to create opportunities outside of Cade Cunningham’s playmaking ability, and All-Star center Jalen Duren had a noted drop-off in production at the same time.
As such, the Pistons set out to add extra three-point shooters to the team to give the group some more dynamism for the 2026-27 campaign, and they accomplished that goal in spades by bringing in John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Taurean Prince and Gary Harris. All four of those players connected on long-range looks at a 40% rate or higher last year, so those incoming players should give the Pistons a new element to utilize if they run into trouble in the paint next postseason.
Even though the rotation typically shrinks in the playoffs as postseason minutes become more difficult to come by for role players, it is important to build a deep squad in case Detroit runs into any unforeseen injury problems after going through a relatively healthy season last year. In terms of the Pistons’ second unit, the team has a couple new faces to use as reserves in Joe and Prince since Collins is likely to slot in on the starting lineup.
Alongside Joe and Prince, the Pistons could reasonably trot out a group of backups with either Daniss Jenkins or Ebuka Okorie running the point, Ron Holland providing exceptional defense at the point-of-attack and fan-favorite Paul Reed occupying the No. 2 center position that used to be held by Isaiah Stewart. In that group, Jenkins or Okorie should do a quality job of self-creating and finding opportunities for themselves while facilitating looks for their teammates at the same time, but that would obviously occur at a level below the playmaking of Cade Cunningham.
Holland is far from an offensive juggernaut in his own right, so the scoring would likely need to come from the other four players on the court, but that is not a new burden for a Pistons team that starts Ausar Thompson on a nightly basis. Reed can score in bunches, so there should still be enough dangerous players to provide a consistent scoring threat for Detroit moving forward on the second unit.
On the third string, the Pistons would reasonably utilize the odd man out between Okorie and Jenkins with Chaz Lanier at the two, Kevin Huerter holding it down on the wing, Javonte Green putting in work as a slightly undersized power forward and Tolu Smith occupying the final center role. That group could face some difficulty in the scoring department, but it would be a rare occasion for all five players to hit the court simultaneously. Overall, Detroit has a deep squad with considerably more range from a three-point shooting perspective while maintaining a lot of the defensive grit that propelled the group to 60 regular season wins a year ago even without Stewart patrolling the paint.
Since the offseason is not yet over, it’s possible that the Pistons continue to make a few more moves before opening training camp, but the foundation is already in place for Detroit to continue utilizing their defensive blueprint while attacking the paint with their newfound perimeter shooters adding significant gravity in that department as well.
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