The Detroit Pistons are 8-3 for the season after defeating the Washington Wizards in double-overtime on Thursday. It was the second consecutive game in which head coach JB Bickerstaff started John Collins at center and brought Paul Reed off the bench. While this has led to two wins on paper, the Pistons need to stop experimenting with this starting lineup.
Daniss Jenkins has been starting next to Cade Cunningham in the backcourt, with Duncan Robinson and Ausar Thompson on the wings, and Collins as the small-ball five. There are certainly benefits to this group, and it should continue to be in Bickerstaff's back pocket. But this isn't the starting lineup that gives the Pistons the best chance to win.
The Pistons are faster and more dynamic with this starting lineup. It also juices up the team's offense since it has more ball-handling and shooting. At the same time, it creates significant defensive issues.
JB Bickerstaff may have benched the wrong player
This was evident in Thursday's win over the Wizards. During Collins' minutes, the Pistons had a horrendous 164.7 defensive rating. They were outscored by 18 points in 25 minutes. This was a big factor in Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr both going off for 30 points.
In contrast, the Pistons had a 91.0 defensive rating when Reed was on the floor. Detroit outscored Washington by 25 points in his 38 minutes. Reed provided more length, physicality, and rebounding on the interior compared to Collins-at-center minutes.
Expecting Collins to guard bigs like Anthony Davis is not realistic. Especially against a team that starts AD and Sarr together, this will be a liability. It's no surprise that the Wizards were 18/20 on shots around the basket.
For the season, lineups with Collins as the lone big man (meaning without Jalen Duren, Paul Reed, or Tolu Smith) have a +1.0 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass. Their offensive rating of 112.1 and defensive rating of 111.0 are both much worse than Detroit's numbers for the season.
In contrast, the Pistons have a +27.1 net rating when Reed is the lone big man without Collins. So, if the Pistons want to have Jenkins in the starting lineup, it should be Collins who gets benched instead of Reed.
The Cunningham-Robinson-Thompson-Collins-Reed lineup was struggling on both ends of the floor and was getting off to bad starts. So, a desire for change was understandable. But Bickerstaff may have benched the wrong player. Collins is not a center, and he shouldn't be for any stretch longer than a few minutes here and there. Accepting that reality will give the Pistons a better chance to win games until Duren gets back.
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