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. 

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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).