With a large amount of turnover in Detroit’s roster this past offseason, there are a lot of viable options as far starting lineup combinations. Ultimately there is one distinct mix of players that will give them the most optimal outcome to win ball games this year to start the season.

POINT GUARD AND CENTER

The two shoe ins to start the year are Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duran at the 1 and 5 position. Cade Cunningham was been crowned the focal point and superstar player and will be tasked with the role of primary ball handler and facilitator to the Pistons offense. Cade is in the 90 plus percentile of passing and creation of open shot opportunities, and given his high versatility and skillset to fit alongside a multitude of players the team’s success will be highly depended upon his performance. Duren is coming into his 3rd year in the league. He battled injuries to his ankle and struggled on the defensive end last year. Despite his struggles he has shown the potential to be low post force that has the skillset to be a 15 and 10 guy on any given night. If he can improve his Rim protection and evade foul trouble  he will be a nice high-low tandem with Cade.

Couldn’t let #BESTofNBA week pass without pulling up JD’s first career 20-20 game…

💪22 PTS
💪21 REB
💪6 AST
💪9-13 FG pic.twitter.com/jRW9OJrqlB

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) September 12, 2024

SHOOTING GUARD

This position is somewhat of a toss-up choice but ultimately is Ausar Thompson is the best option. Ausar will provide a long athletic slashing option with defensive versatility. He will serve as a glue guy to a lineup that lacks a lot of the attributes that he possesses. Last year after a strong start, Ausar lost sight of his role a bit, and was pretty much designated to standing in the corner and waiting for his opportunities to attack. With the Pistons improving their spacing options. This will enable Thompson to slash to the basketball on, on-ball situations and cut through the lane without the ball. He will also be tasked with the role of guarding the best offensive option and assisting with rim protection, which the Pistons so direly need.

SMALL FORWARD

At the 3 position Simone Fontecchio will be given the role of spotting up and spacing the floor so that Cade can safely roam and create opportunities for his teammates. In the 16 game sample size last year it appeared the addition of Simone put the Pistons offense in the most functional position that they had been all year. Simone shot a high volume of 3’s to the tune of 43%, totaling 16 points per game. Fontecchio is a tweener at his position and can interchangeably play between the wing and 4 position.

POWER FORWARD

Lastly at this position, Detroit will utilize another versatile glue guy that will serve as a floor spacer for Cade Cunningham. Tobias Harris is a veteran player that has previous experience in Detroit and will be asked to help lead the way and alter the fortune that has plagued the team over the last couple of years. Harris is a consistent offensive option that has the ability to play many roles whether it’s creating for himself or spotting up on the outside for the occasional corner three or midrange jumper. He is a strong defensive rebounder and for what he lacks in rim protection and off-ball deflections, he is able to make up by guarding a variety of positions.

Credit where credit is due – Tobias Harris was great last night. This tough bucket from the elbow to keep the Knicks lead manageable late in the 4th was absolutely massive. He knocked down open shots & didn’t force things… Big time from Tobi when he was needed most. Nice to see. pic.twitter.com/2YGQafNx0l

— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) May 1, 2024

In honorable mention, Jaden Ivey was left out of the starting lineup. Although he has the highest offensive ceiling amongst our young players i believe his poor shooting last year and low portability score makes him a poor fit around Cade Cunningham who is already been given the role of facilitating the offense. Ivey has the ability to flourish in that creation role on the second unit and will have the green light to make things happen off the bench. Especially with the likes of Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway at his disposal, who are veteran volume shooters.