Pistons Roll Out Chaotic Starting Lineup Around Cade Cunningham

The Detroit Pistons are rolling out a starting five on Monday that sounds less like a cohesive basketball unit and more like a randomly generated NBA 2K summer league roster.

According to Underdog NBA, Detroit is officially starting Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Zach Collins, and Paul Reed. If you just had to squint at your screen to figure out how all those pieces fit together, you are not alone.

"Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Lineup alert: Pistons will start Cunningham, Robinson, Thompson, Collins, Reed on Monday.'"

This is the group tasked with taking on the Charlotte Hornets. For anyone staring at a betting app trying to figure out how this frontcourt rotation impacts the spread, the math is basically just hoping Cunningham decides to play hero ball for 40 minutes.

Detroit is actually coming off a 110-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets, proving they can occasionally string together competent basketball. The best news for the franchise is that Cunningham is currently healthy and active, a massive relief after he missed significant time last season with a terrifying collapsed lung.

But throwing Reed and Collins into the frontcourt while Thompson runs the wing is certainly a choice. Thompson is an elite athlete who currently treats jump shots like unexploded ordnance, which means the spacing in this lineup might look like a rugby scrum.

It feels like the coaching staff just pulled names out of a hat to see who gets the privilege of setting screens for Cade. When your franchise point guard is the only reliable offensive engine on the floor, every possession turns into a high-wire act.

Detroit tips off against Charlotte next, followed by a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers. We will find out very quickly if this five-man unit can actually function, or if Cunningham is about to spend the entire night playing 1-on-5 while everyone else just gets their cardio in.