Detroit, MI
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.
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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).
Chickens and geese that went missing from a local nonprofit’s Detroit site were found in the backyard of a nearby home, the director of operations said Wednesday.
The Full Circle Foundation, a Grosse Point Park-based nonprofit, said more than a dozen chickens and geese were believed stolen from a chicken coop on Detroit’s east side that also features the Full Circle Edible Garden.
The nonprofit provides training and job opportunities for young people with special needs.
Neighbors who learned from news reports about the missing flock found the “chickens were being held in the backyard of a vacant home not far from the Full Circle Edible Garden,” said Stephanie DiVirgil, director of operations. She said Ribbon Farm 4-H owns the flock.
“The homeowner was contacted, and she reached out to Full Circle to confirm,” said DiVirgil. “We were able to retrieve all of the chickens and geese that were found on the property, 19 in total.”
The foundation and Ribbon Farms 4-H are working to secure the site, including cameras, fencing and lights.
“We will likely start a fundraising campaign to have these items installed,” DiVirgil said. “We’ve gotten amazing support from the community, including offers to help pay for these additional security measures.”
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Human remains were found in a furnace of an home on Detroit’s west side, the Detroit Police Department tells us.
The remains was found by an individual working on the home in the 5200 block of S Clarendon just after 11 a.m.
Anyone with information can call 313-596-2260 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp.
Stay with WXYZ.com for updates on this developing story.
The Detroit Police Department is investigating after a 5-year-old child was shot in the arm near a park on Tuesday.
The shooting happened at about 8:50 p.m. near the Fargo-Oaklfield Playground on the city’s west side. Police Chief Todd Bettison says the child was in front of his home riding a bike with his father supervising at the time of the shooting.
Bettison says an individual at the park fired multiple shots, striking the child. He says the boy’s father reported hearing shots and the child falling from his bike.
Bettison says the child is expected to be OK.
Bettison says the person appears to have been firing shots randomly, which he calls “problematic.” He says a person of interest is described as possibly between 15 and 16 years old and wearing a mask. He says the person is known to frequent the area.
“When you fire a weapon, what goes up must go down,” Bettison said. “To parents and everyone, know where your kids are. Juveniles should not have guns, and whether you’re an adult or a child, you should not be firing a weapon inside of the city limits.”
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield released a statement, saying in part, “By the grace of God, this young boy will recover from his injury and is on his way home from the hospital. With that said, this incident was senseless and could have had a much more tragic ending.
“Every child in Detroit deserves to feel safe riding their bike, playing outside, and simply being a child in their own neighborhood. We cannot accept a reality where our children are placed in harm’s way because someone chose to recklessly fire a gun.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up.
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