Pistons Roll Out Spacing Nightmare Lineup Against Celtics

The Detroit Pistons are officially rolling out a starting five of Cade Cunningham, Jerome Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Zach Collins, and Jalen Duren on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics.

If you are wondering what year it is, this lineup feels like a tribute to 1998 basketball. Starting Thompson and Duren together means Detroit is willingly putting two guys on the floor who treat the three-point line like an electric fence.

"Underdog NBA reported the starting lineup of Cunningham, Robinson, Thompson, Collins, and Duren."

The spacing is going to be a nightmare. Thompson and Duren are elite athletes, but defenses already sag off them into the paint. Throw in Jerome Robinson, a career 36 percent shooter from the floor, and Zach Collins, and you have a recipe for a completely clogged lane.

Cunningham is the one guy who has to make this work. He is playing through a recent hip contusion and illness, and now he gets to navigate a half-court offense where every defender has one foot in the paint. He has averaged over 22 points and eight assists across his career, but those assist numbers might be hard to hit if nobody can knock down a perimeter shot.

Anyone looking at the prop markets for this game needs to factor in the geometry of the court. With this lack of shooting, Cunningham is going to face constant double teams, making his turnover and assist props a wild ride for fantasy managers and bettors alike.

Surprisingly, Detroit has actually found some recent success, putting up 129 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors and dropping 128 on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Head coach JB Bickerstaff has been experimenting with using Duren as a passer out of the short roll to counter the lack of floor spacing.

We will see if that creativity holds up against Boston. If the Pistons can actually score consistently with this group, Bickerstaff deserves a medal, but until then, expect a lot of contested mid-range jumpers and heavy traffic at the rim.