Detroit, MI

Monty Williams’ all-bench lineup keeps hurting Detroit Pistons. Here’s why he keeps doing it

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2024

Monty Williams’ all-bench lineup keeps hurting Detroit Pistons. Here’s why he keeps doing it

The Detroit Pistons’ second unit needs help.

Monty Williams addressed the flaw in his rotation after the 110-100 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, in which the Pistons trailed by 26 points after a 40-15 first-half run. That stretch started once most of Detroit’s starters were out of the game.

Williams likes to go deep into his bench early, and typically closes first quarters with five bench players on the floor, even if the opposing team still has its starters in the game. The all-bench lineups have been a factor in many of the Pistons’ losses this season, as the starters have often had to close double-digit deficits after checking back in.

Detroit closed the first quarter on Friday with Malachi Flynn, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Simone Fontecchio and James Wiseman. Cleveland, which closed the first with Evan Mobley and left him in the game to start the second, used a 14-2 run to push their lead to 13 before Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey re-entered the game early in the second.

A GOOD START? Pistons sacrifice offense to prioritize ‘core five’ by starting Isaiah Stewart

The guard duo was unable to stop the bleeding, though, as Darius Garland knocked down six 3-pointers during the 40-15 run. The starters eventually found a rhythm, closing the first half with an 11-0 run to whittle the lead down to 15.

But ultimately, the second-unit stretch was too much to overcome.

“I’m not happy about the outcome, for sure,” Williams said after the game. “There were a number of lapses with the second unit tonight. I thought that group, for a new group, the ball got sticky and we couldn’t score. When you score in the low 20s against a good defensive team like that, it’s gonna put a lot of pressure on your defense.

“I didn’t see the same ball movement, body movement that we saw in Chicago and even in New York. That part was a little frustrating because I gotta figure out a combination with that second unit that can play the way we want to play.”

The all-bench units have become a frequent topic on NBA Twitter and a source of pain for many Pistons fans, who have only nine wins against 50 losses this season. Many teams stagger their best playmakers, but Ivey typically subs out before Cunningham, leaving a bench guard to run the second unit.

Williams shifted his strategy in the second half, staggering Ivey and Cunningham down the stretch. Ivey subbed out midway through the third before coming back in for Cunningham a few minutes after. Cunningham came back in for Ivey with 8:51 remaining in the game, and Ivey checked back in to join Cunningham with under 4 minutes left.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Monty Williams’ lineup choices are stunting Pistons development

The Pistons outscored Cleveland by 11 in the fourth, and cut their deficit to seven with 1:22 to play. However, Williams sees an inherent flaw with allowing Ivey to run the second unit. Defensively, he said the 6-foot-4 guard would likely play alongside an even smaller guard in Flynn or rookie Marcus Sasser, who missed Friday’s game with a right knee contusion.

Staggering the two guards has been a frequent topic this season, and remains a potential solution to the second unit’s woes, at least offensively. On the other end, Williams would have to figure something out.

“The tough part is if I take JI out and then I bring him back with the second unit, no matter how you slice it you’re going to have two small guards out there with Malachi and Sass and JI,” Williams said. “It’s a tough one. I may have to bring (Isaiah Stewart) out, bring (Fontecchio) out and bring Stewy back with the second unit. We need an anchor out there on both ends and just didn’t have that tonight.”

Of course, the Pistons have other guards and wings on the bench who can play next to Ivey. Trade deadline acquisition Quentin Grimes has impressed early with his defensive ability, and Troy Brown Jr. can also defend and hit 3s. Williams has shied away from utilizing Ivey as Detroit’s lone on-ball creator on the floor, but the second-year guard ran the show with Fournier, Ausar Thompson, Fontecchio and Wiseman next to him in the fourth quarter.

Detroit trailed by 22 when Ivey initially subbed out in the fourth. With Cunningham back in and Stewart in at center, the Pistons found momentum. Thompson’s second 3-pointer of the night brought them within 13 midway through the fourth, and a pair of free throws by Cunningham cut it to 10.

Ivey’s 3-pointer with 1:22 to play cut it to 107-100, but they couldn’t complete the comeback. They were the superior team in the fourth, and Williams’ rotation decisions helped the team sustain momentum after a flat first half and third quarter.

It isn’t clear which direction Williams will go to bring more life to the bench. What is clear is that the all-bench units need to be shaken up.

“Defensively we were a lot better, and then in the fourth we played pretty good defense,” Williams said. “We just dug ourselves a hole. We were down 26. It felt like 56 because we just weren’t playing the kind of basketball that we had been playing in all of the games leading to this particular game. I gotta figure out the second unit, for sure.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

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Next up: Magic

Matchup: Pistons (9-50) at Orlando (34-26).

Tipoff: 6 p.m. Sunday; Kia Center, Orlando, Florida.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

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Detroit, MI

Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job

Published

6 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job

But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.

Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.

McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.

On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.

Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.

You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”

You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:

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Detroit, MI

Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens

Published

18 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens

The Detroit Tigers and left-hander Tarik Skubal did not agree to terms on a one-year contract for the 2026 season before the 8 p.m. deadline Thursday, Jan. 8, to exchange salary figures in the arbitration process.

Skubal filed at $32 million; the Tigers filed at $19 million.

It’s a difference of $13 million.

An arbitration panel will review the case during a hearing scheduled for late January or early to mid-February. The arbitrators must determine whether Skubal is worth more or less than the $25.5 million midpoint. If he’s worth more, they will select his $32 million proposal; if less, they will select the Tigers’ $19 million proposal. The panel isn’t allowed to choose a salary in between $19 million and $32 million.

The Tigers operate as a file-and-trial club in salary arbitration under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, meaning there won’t be further negotiations with Skubal regarding a one-year contract. A multi-year contract could still be negotiated, but it’s highly unlikely.

Skubal – represented by agent Scott Boras – reaches free agency after the 2026 season. The 29-year-old is positioned to become the first pitcher in MLB history to receive a $400 million contract.

If the two sides were to reach an agreement before a hearing, it would likely be a one-year contract with a player option, thus maintaining Skubal’s path to free agency in the 2026-27 offseason.

The reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive $17.8 million in his third and final year of salary arbitration. He previously earned $2.65 million in 2024, then $10.15 million in 2025.

Why couldn’t the Tigers and Skubal agree on a salary for 2026?

The arbitration case for Skubal is unusually complex, thanks to a rarely used provision highlighted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Because Skubal has more than five years of MLB service time, he isn’t limited to comparing himself only to past arbitration-eligible players. Instead, he can compare himself to any player in baseball.

Those unique rights allow Skubal – who has five years, 114 days of service time – to point to MLB’s highest-paid pitchers (such as Max Scherzer’s $43.3 million per year from 2022-24 or Zack Wheeler’s $42 million per year from 2025-27), arguing that his elite performance warrants a salary in that range – not in the $17.8 million range, as projected by MLB Trade Rumors.

That’s what pushed the Tigers and Skubal to an arbitration hearing.

[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]

The current record for the largest one-year arbitration contract belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to $31 million with the New York Yankees for the 2024 season.

If Skubal wins the arbitration hearing, he will surpass Soto and claim the new record with his proposed $32 million salary. If Skubal loses, then he will earn the $19 million salary proposed by the Tigers.

There are two other arbitration records on the line.

The highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015 – his fourth year in the arbitration process as a Super Two qualifier. The largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander Jacob deGrom, who surged from $7.4 million to $17 million – an increase of $9.6 million – with the New York Mets in 2019.

Those records for pitchers will belong to Skubal – but only if his proposed $32 million salary is selected by the arbitration panel. He will fall just short of the records if the panel selects the Tigers’ proposed $19 million.

Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball.

More notably, he is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

In 2025, Skubal registered a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 241 strikeouts (32.2% strikeout rate) across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts. He made the All-Star Game for the second time in his six-year MLB career.

Skubal became the first back-to-back AL Cy Young winner since right-hander Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000, leading the AL with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and a 2.21 ERA in 2025.

The Tigers haven’t been to an arbitration hearing since right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019.

Fulmer lost the case, receiving the Tigers’ proposed $2.8 million salary rather than his requested $3.4 million. Before that hearing, the Tigers hadn’t participated in an arbitration hearing since 2001 – and the Tigers haven’t lost a case since 2000.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Detroit, MI

Former Detroit Tigers starting pitcher is Rockies’ first signing of winter

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Former Detroit Tigers starting pitcher is Rockies’ first signing of winter

DETROIT — Former Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen has signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Colorado Rockies.

It’s the first signing of the offseason for the Rockies under new president Paul DePodesta. The deal includes a $9 million club option for 2027.

It’s the fifth straight winter that Lorenzen has signed a one-year deal following a seven-season tenure with the Cincinnati Reds.

Lorenzen, who turned 34 this week, signed a free-agent deal with the Tigers before the 2023 season. He made 18 starts and was selected for his first appearance in the All-Star Game before being dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee.

After a strong start with his new team that included a no-hitter, Lorenzen was moved to the bullpen and pitched sparingly in the postseason.

He found a quiet reception on the free-agent market, agreeing to a discounted one-year deal with the Texas Rangers before the 2024 season. He was traded to the Royals at the deadline and pitched well down the stretch, going 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 innings with his new team.

He re-signed with the Royals in 2025 and put together another solid season, posting a 4.64 ERA in 141 innings with 127 strikeouts and 39 walks.

Colorado is known as an unforgiving home for pitchers, and the Rockies lost a league-worst 119 games in 2025.