Three Guard Lineups Working For Pistons

When on the court together, Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum and Ben Gordon are doing some major damage for the Detroit Pistons.

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The current starting lineup of Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Jerebko, Charlie Villanueva and Wallace are producing as you would expect. The unit is averaging 1.08 points per possession in more than 127 minutes of court time. That number is down slightly from the 1.12 average of the ten most commonly used Pistons lineups, but certainly not enough to be concerned about Wallace and Jerebko's impact on point production.


What does stand out when looking at the numbers of the Pistons' top five-man units is the success of the three-guard lineups.

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So far this season, the most effective unit has been Bynum, Gordon, Stuckey, Villanueva and Wallace. In terms of minutes played, it's the team's second most used lineup, behind only the current starting rotation.


When together, the scoring picks up considerably from the 1.12 points per possession to 1.25. When you factor in that the Pistons are averaging 87 possessions per game, this would amount to a difference of 15 points over 48 minutes.


It's not just the increase in offensive production that's makes this unit effective. When on the court together, this group plays stifling defense, limiting opponents to a paltry .97 points a possession.

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What all these numbers mean, at least through the first eighth of the season, is that the Pistons are finding success with a three-guard lineup. This has to be considered good news for those concerned the Pistons won't be able to find enough playing time for all four guards when Richard Hamilton returns from ankle injury.

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