RealGM

Someone on the GB thread brought this up and got me thinking it makes sense now and for our future.

With Luke on the wing he has no sort of measurement advantage having a wingspan smaller than his height. He hasn't been a liability defensively though.

But if you were too put him at the PG spot he actually gains a advantage with his measurables at 6'6.

Plus it's not like he doesn't have the playmaking and vision to succeed there while also being a 40%+ 3pt shooter. Definitely makes sense with this starting lineup for spacing and the fact Griffin has the ball a lot while being a playmaker himself.

So

Kennard/Ish
Bullock/Galloway
Johnson/Ennis
Griffin/Tolliver
Drummond/Griffin

There's your 9 man rotation. Now we just need to fire SVG and bring in some one who would have the balls and sense to try it.

its something that ive thought about too. something that is definitely worth a shot. it needs a serious try. im just worried hed be a little slow and his ball handling may lack a bit for that. but id definitely try it

I've already thought Luke at PG especially with Stanley or Blake also on the floor is fine.

Anybody but Ish! Even Galloway

I don't think he has the combination of handle/vision/playmaking you need to play PG.

Love the idea. Move Drummond to SG as well.

Rock on.

Manocad wrote:Love the idea. Move Drummond to SG as well.

Rock on.

Yeah bro same thing for sure, rock on

MrBigShot wrote:I don't think he has the combination of handle/vision/playmaking you need to play PG.

I think he just plays timid because he wants to play error free so he doesn't get yanked. You let him get comfortable and he has the tools to become a PG. He carried Duke a lot with the ball in his hands. He's got vision, can shoot and is crafty without the big first step and big athleticism.

He would play off ball a lot and not be like Ish running in circles looking for assist i will admit. He doesn't have that kind of ball handling.

I definitely think ishneeds to be back on the bench, so I'd be happy with this. Kennard needs to play more and we don't have a solution at pg

Kennard doesn't have the handles, if he's pressured he will turn it over a lot.

Yeah I was thinking about this a while back, shortly after Reggie’s injury. It’s definitely worth a look. I personally can’t stand watching ish pound the air out of the ball. He does some things well, but disrupts flow with starters.

Kennard will give us another solid 3 pt threat with the starting unit, which is needed horribly. Watching ish spot up in the corner for a 3 makes me cringe every single time.

When he got drafted I said that him at pg was the only way he would be a plus player for the Pistons.
He has no advantage at SG unless he's playing against backups

The solution to not having a pg is not to just move a non-pg into the role.

MrBigShot wrote:I don't think he has the combination of handle/vision/playmaking you need to play PG.

Yeah I think at this point he doesn’t have the ability to get into the paint by himself/with little help consistently to break down the defense. I think his vision/passing is fine, he just can’t put enough pressure on a defense to be the lead guard.

I’d still like to see them run more plays for him though.

The simple answer is because Kennard is not able to stay in front of any of the starting PG in this league.

I just wonder if having his shooting and playmaking is enough to have more of a impact then a non Shooter like Smith. I just can't find a logical reasoning for Ish Smith to be out there running in circles while defenses leave Blake on a island.

MotownMadness wrote:I just wonder if having his shooting and playmaking is enough to have more of a impact then a non Shooter like Smith. I just can't find a logical reasoning for Ish Smith to be out there running in circles while defenses leave Blake on a island.

i think galloway would be better starting over ish. the offense mainly runs through blake anyways, galloway provides them with more spacing and he's better suited to guarding point guards than luke. galloway would still only play ~12-15 minutes a game but i think it gives the starting lineup more balance than ish or luke.

that way ish's minutes would stay the same but he'd be out there more with kennard, tolliver and bullock/ennis with either blake or drummond which gives him a lot more space to probe.

whitehops wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:I just wonder if having his shooting and playmaking is enough to have more of a impact then a non Shooter like Smith. I just can't find a logical reasoning for Ish Smith to be out there running in circles while defenses leave Blake on a island.

i think galloway would be better starting over ish. the offense mainly runs through blake anyways, galloway provides them with more spacing and he's better suited to guarding point guards than luke. galloway would still only play ~12-15 minutes a game but i think it gives the starting lineup more balance than ish or luke.

Something, we need spacing in that lineup. Honestly I think Luke has better court vision then Galloway already as a rookie but just hasn't been able to really show it yet.

Defensively though yeah your probably right and Galloway is the way to go.

The general idea of having Luke help with the play making has merit. He has shown a knack for this, both with the Pistons and at Duke. Of course, he's not a PG. A guy can play SG and help facilitate. Of course, he can't be expected to consistently stay in front of the quick PGs. That said, having him mostly stand in the corner behind the 3 pt line is selling him short.

Building on this line of thought, offensively I wonder if the Pistons can utilize Blake similar as the 76ers do Simmons. Each are a triple-double waiting to happen and should never put up a three. If possible, then the opposing PG is either guarded by Kennard or Bullock, depending on match-ups.