DETROIT -- The Detroit Pistons have been a little thin at center. After Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, they got a little thinner with the suspension of second-year big man Isaiah Stewart. So with Stewart out for the next two games, the Pistons will continue to rebound by committee as they face some stout lineups.
So the Pistons opted to start Luka Garza, the first of his career, to help the team inside the paint, as well as on the glass. Garza will have his work cut out for him but he has handled some tough matchups well, including one against Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid on Oct. 28.
Through eight games, Garza has averaged 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds.
Both the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks have two of the NBA’s top defenders and will have plenty of work cut out for them with stopping them on the glass.
“It has to be gang rebounding,” Pistons head coach, Dwane Casey said. “We are a big man down, and we have to really, really come together. Cade (Cunningham) has to get some rebounds, all of our guards have to come back, Josh (Jackson), Hamidou (Diallo), they have to come in and help us rebound because we are small.
The Heat will have Bam Adebayo on Tuesday night after the big man was listed as questionable with overall body soreness. Adebayo, who finished fourth in last year’s Defensive Player of the Year voting, has been having a solid season.
He is averaging 19.4 and 10.6 rebounds (13th best in the league) through 14 games.
“Miami tonight, thank God it’s small guys too,” Casey added. “So, it’ll be a scrappy-type rebounding game, but we have to get in there, and it has to be a five-man job. We can’t depend on Luka, Trey (Lyles) and Jerami (Grant) to clean up all of the rebounds. I mean they are going to have to get their share, but it has to be a team game rebound mentality.”
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