The Pistons are already dealing with enough early-season injury hits to test their depth, and that chaos may end up creating an opening for rookie Ebuka Okorie.
Detroit, off to a 3-0 start, has already had to absorb a heavy load on the injury front. Jalen Duren is out for at least two weeks, and that absence is expected to stretch longer.
Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Joe are both listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the New York Knicks. Joe, in particular, is another setback after hitting the floor hard on a dunk and leaving the game.
Even with the roster thinning out, the Pistons have handled the opening stretch well enough to expose three Eastern Conference teams already. But the next stretch could force coach JB Bickerstaff to lean even harder on his reserves, and that’s where Okorie comes in.
If Joe and Thompson both sit, Daniss Jenkins should slide back into the starting group after a strong showing against the 76ers. Jenkins has also been reliable in that role before when given the chance. That would likely leave Cade Cunningham, Jenkins, Duncan Robinson, John Collins and Paul Reed as the first five.
Joe’s absence matters beyond the starting lineup, too. It leaves Detroit short a bench guard, and that could give Okorie a real lane into the rotation. With Jenkins starting, the Pistons do not have another backup point guard waiting behind him.
One possible second-unit look would include Okorie, Huerter, Green, Holland and Collins or Smith if Bickerstaff keeps the rotation at 11. If the coach trims it down, Okorie could be the one squeezed out, especially if Detroit chooses to stagger Cade and Jenkins more and use players like Huerter on the ball.
Still, Bickerstaff spoke about Okorie after the last game and said he probably should have gotten him more minutes, so the rookie has a real chance to see the floor against New York. He has already looked composed in the limited minutes he’s received, even if none of those came in Madison Square Garden.
For Detroit, these kinds of minutes may matter later. The Pistons are going to need every layer of their depth as the season goes on, and if Okorie can hold up tonight against the defending champions, that experience could pay off when the games matter most. That’s the silver lining in all these early injuries: the bench is getting thrown into the fire now, and that could help the team down the line.
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