Detroit Pistons forced into unlikely clutch-time lineup

As a team, the Detroit Pistons have little to play for as the season winds down other than trying to avoid being the worst team in franchise history.

But they do have several players vying for their future in Detroit, including two guys who weren’t even on the team when the season started in RJ Hampton and Eugene Omoruyi.

Both players signed contracts for the rest of this season, plus one team option for next season, so there is no guarantee that either one of them will be on the roster when next season rolls around.

They have both had positive moments, but also flashes of why they were available in the first place. Omoruyi is a strong forward who can defend and rebound a little (though his recent photo shoot won’t win him any fans in Detroit) . Hampton is athletic and good in transition, and his shooting has been decent for the Pistons, as he is averaging 39 percent from 3-point range on 3.1 attempts in his 18 minutes per game.

The Detroit Pistons are giving both players plenty of chances to prove themselves in the final games of the season, including last night against the Thunder, when they were part of a very unlikely clutch-time lineup.

Detroit Pistons: The most unlikely lineup

The Pistons dropped a close one to the Thunder last night even though all of their best players were on the bench injured or in foul trouble.

Jaden Ivey had fouled out, Killian Hayes was out with an apparent leg injury and Detroit was pretty much down to the felt, as they say in poker, which led to a unlikely group on the floor. Seriously, what if I told you at the beginning of the season that this lineup would play clutch-time minutes for the Pistons?

• Cory Joseph
• RJ Hampton
• Isaiah Livers
• Eugene Omoruyi
• James Wiseman

You would have started by saying “Who?” Most fans had never heard of Omoruyi and he, RJ Hampton and James Wiseman weren’t even on the team at the start of the season. You’d also wonder why in the world CoJo was in there and what had gone horribly wrong in Detroit.

That lineup is symbolic of the season, as it is confusing, mismatched and shows the depths of the Pistons’ injury problems.

It’s been that kind of season, as we’re not getting to see the players we want to see, and the losses just keep piling up.