If we start Cade + Bojan + Ausar + Stew + Duren...

[bstein14]

If we start Cade + Bojan + Ausar + Stew + Duren...

We should be the best rebounding team in the league.

Cade's above average for a PG, Ausar is super aggressive there as well. We all know what Stew and Duren bring in that area. Overall if those guys are all getting close to 28-34 MPG we should be really solid rebounding the ball. Yes, Bojan is a below average rebounder but if you slot him in against guards, or you simply have him be the guy that gets back on defense I think overall you have dynamic rebounding group just in your four young guys.

Cade 5 RPG
Ausar 7 RPG
Stew 8 RPG
Duren 12 RPG

Those guys alone should bring in close to 30 a night and they might be a low estimate.

[bjones521]

Spacing will be terrible though. Probably the worse offense in the league

[Billl]

We likely won't be a good rebounding team. We've got a lot of guys with rebounding potential, but it's really hard to be a good rebounding team without also being a team that plays defense and also executes well offensively.

[Drwho17]

Well, that lineup will get a lot of rebounds, from all the bricks they put up on offense. Need to get rid of Bogdanovic and roll with Ivey in the lineup, they aren't contending for the NBA title this year anyway, what good does it do to run a 33-year old chucker out there for, as opposed to the guy who was the #5 pick last year.

[DetroitDon15]

Well, that lineup will get a lot of rebounds, from all the bricks they put up on offense. Need to get rid of Bogdanovic and roll with Ivey in the lineup, they aren't contending for the NBA title this year anyway, what good does it do to run a 33-year old chucker out there for, as opposed to the guy who was the #5 pick last year.

I don’t see a way that we can play BB off the bench. We lack so much shooting that it would hurt the offense. I am coming around to seeing Ivey off the bench. I’m starting to see him more has a Lou Williams 2.0.

[DetroitDon15]

Well, that lineup will get a lot of rebounds, from all the bricks they put up on offense. Need to get rid of Bogdanovic and roll with Ivey in the lineup, they aren't contending for the NBA title this year anyway, what good does it do to run a 33-year old chucker out there for, as opposed to the guy who was the #5 pick last year.

I don’t get how moving BB to the bench improves shooting. He was a .411 from three. About .05 above league average. I’d see BB as a “chucker”. This isn’t AI taking 40 shots a game to average 20 points.

I get that you don’t like a 33 year old on a rebuilding team but the team needs to turn the page. He’s our best shooter. If you want to continue to tank, we should move Cade with that idea. He is almost off his rookie deal.

[Crymson]

Well, that lineup will get a lot of rebounds, from all the bricks they put up on offense. Need to get rid of Bogdanovic and roll with Ivey in the lineup, they aren't contending for the NBA title this year anyway, what good does it do to run a 33-year old chucker out there for, as opposed to the guy who was the #5 pick last year.

Removing one of the game's most elite perimeter shooters from the lineup is not a way to improve shooting.

Bojan is the opposite of a chucker. He's a high-percentage shooter who perennially scores a lot of points with high efficiency. Last season's 20 PPG on 63% TS was an excellent mark by any standard.

[Canadafan]

Is this happening or been said to happen or just people assuming?
Cade Ivey Bojan Stew Duren has to be the starting 5. Just makes most sense.
Morris Hayes Ausar Harris Bagley backups.
If Bojan Harris or Morris aren't healthy to start the season then we see Sasser play. Stop this Ivey 6th man crap! Lmao

[bstein14]

Is this happening or been said to happen or just people assuming?
Cade Ivey Bojan Stew Duren has to be the starting 5. Just makes most sense.
Morris Hayes Ausar Harris Bagley backups.
If Bojan Harris or Morris aren't healthy to start the season then we see Sasser play. Stop this Ivey 6th man crap! Lmao

I think if Hayes isn't our backup guard, it makes more sense to put Ausar in the starting lineup and let Ivey get more time on the ball in the 2nd unit.... at least starting out. Ausar's defense is much better than Ivey's as well and you can't really do great in this league with a below average 1/2/3 in your starting lineup. Cade is below average and Ivey and Bojan are both well below average on defense.

[NYPiston]

Well, that lineup will get a lot of rebounds, from all the bricks they put up on offense. Need to get rid of Bogdanovic and roll with Ivey in the lineup, they aren't contending for the NBA title this year anyway, what good does it do to run a 33-year old chucker out there for, as opposed to the guy who was the #5 pick last year.

So you want to alleviate the "bricks" concern by subbing out their most efficient offensive player by a significant margin btw for a far less efficient player?

Not that I disagree that the development of Ivey is more important than giving Bogey starters minutes but you insert Ivey into that lineup and it's the worst shooting lineup in the league and probably not by an insignificant margin. There would be a **** ton of athleticism in that group though. I haven't even touched on the bench and the mish mash of players thrown together there.

The lineup is a real mess when you look at it this way. There's no starting combo that you look at and say "this team is ready to win NBA games with that lineup". It goes without saying but so much of this is contingent not only on Cade staying healthy but Cade taking that next step to become a more efficient scorer/playmaker but based on what we know right now, the lineup is a mess full of huge question marks across the board littered with inefficient scorers and poor defenders.

[vege]

Stew is the problem not Bojan. This is a 20 wins team at best, it's bad.

With Ivey on the 2nd unit we have a problem, we have 3 guards there that are going to get minutes in Monte Morris, Alec Burks and Jaden Ivey, we might play Burks as SF which is laughable.

Morris/Ivey/Burks/Joe Harris?/Bagley is the worst 2nd unit in the league. It's so dysfunctional it's not even funny. And our starters are also bad. This roster is a mess.

[Canadafan]

Stew is the problem not Bojan. This is a 20 wins team at best, it's bad.

With Ivey on the 2nd unit we have a problem, we have 3 guards there that are going to get minutes in Monte Morris, Alec Burks and Jaden Ivey, we might play Burks as SF which is laughable.

Morris/Ivey/Burks/Joe Harris?/Bagley is the worst 2nd unit in the league. It's so dysfunctional it's not even funny. And our starters are also bad. This roster is a mess.

Ya, we'd be so much better with Stew off the bench backing up Duren and an actual starting PF.

[Kalamazoo317]

It was actually pretty impressive to see what our team looked like when Cade was the worst defender out there. I know Shay was out of the OKC game, but Duren, Stew, Ausar, Hayes, Cade was pretty solid on defense, rebounded well, and shared the ball really well. We got to the foul line a lot thanks to good passing and got a lot of open threes, even if they went to poor shooters.

I'd be tempted to put Bojan in there, probably for Stew, unless Stew can become a lot more reliable at the three, and then have Stew as the primary back up at 4/5. Once Livers is back, there's an argument for considering him in the starting 4 spot.

I think Ivey, who's trying harder on defense, needs to show he can cut down on turnovers, finish more consistently, defend more effectively, and play well off the ball before I want him starting. I think he's a good energy/offense off the bench guy right now.

I read we're thinking about trying to move Burkes, which I'm cool with given our depth there and given Hayes looking like he's a good fit on a Monty-coached team.

[bstein14]

It's been just three games, but we're currently the 2nd best rebounding team (54.0) in the league behind only Minny (54.5) and we know Minnesota also plays big with Gobert + KAT up front and Anthony Edwards is also a smaller guy that really attacks the boards.

[vege]

You were wrong tho bstein14. Ausar is a better rebounder than you predicted He's averaging 10.4 per game not 7

[breezypeezy]

Yep with the current starters Monty has trotted out we can get a board from any position.

[Mr Peanut]

I think this will ultimately be the starting lineup when Bojan returns. Spacing for Cade will be somewhat better with another 3 point threat out on the floor.

[pistonsbball]

If I had to lean towards giving Cade space or having a better defense, it'd be giving Cade space, especially in the starting line up. Our best chance of winning games is getting and keeping Cade in a good rhythm. If Bojan is going to play the 4 then he needs Duren behind him cleaning up.

Ideal line up would be: Cade, Morris, Thompson, Bojan, Duren. We can still run some Stew/Duren and if it's working we can stay with it.

[Uncle Mxy]

Monte Morris adds more in offense than we might lose in defense, seems like a more straightforward swap.