Monty Williams gets to start off his tenure as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons by facing his former team, the Phoenix Suns, in preseason action at Little Caesars Arena. This will be fans’ first hints at what Williams thinks of his current roster, and how he sees the pieces fitting together. It will also be the first time Cade Cunningham will be in a Pistons uniform since Nov. 9, 2022.
Game Vitals
When: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Bally Sports Detroit
Game Preview
Everyone is excited to see Cade. Everyone is excited to see year 2 of Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren. Everyone wants their first look at rookie Ausar Thompson. Everyone wants to see if Monty Williams’ professed admiration for Killian Hayes so far in camp translate to a real role in the rotation or not.
There will also be plenty to scout as far as the Suns are concerned. The team has gone through a significant overhaul in both the coaching ranks via replacing Williams with Frank Vogel, but also with a new roster that saw the addition of Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkik, the subtraction of Deandre Ayton, and the first offseason with Kevin Durant playing alpha alongside Devin Booker.
The Pistons will b without Bojan Boganovic, who could potentially be a starting forward for the Pistons this season. Bogi is out with what the team is calling a low-grande right calf strain.
“It’s one of those deals where we’re being really cautious with him,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said, per the Detroit News. “He’s been on the floor doing a little bit, but not enough where he can get in a game. We just want to be as careful as we can. The calf is a tricky thing and I think he’s had a history of calf injuries so our guys are doing the best we can to, not bring him along slowly, but bring him along so he can be effective when he gets back out there.”
Perhaps the most intriguing rotation question of the Pistons is how Williams will want to utilize the mix of Isaiah Stewart, Bogdanovic, and Thompson among his forward rotation. One will for sure start, and two could reasonably start.
The team has not announced its official starting lineup for today’s preseason game.
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (0-0)
Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren
Phoenix Suns (0-0)
Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Josh Okogie, Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkic
Question of the Day
What will be Ausar’s rookie statline including points, rebounds, blocks, steals, assists, and made 3-pointers?