The Detroit Pistons will be without two crucial players for Wednesday’s season opening against the Miami Heat.
The game will be missed by both veteran big Bojan Bogdanovic and veteran guard Monte Morris.
Last season, Bogdanovic appeared in 59 games for the Pistons and was one of the team’s top players when he was on the court.
In 2022-23, he averaged 21.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from outside the arc.
With Bogdanovic out, rookie Ausar Thompson, veteran Alec Burks, and youngster Javey may see increased playing time. It’s uncertain how Pistons head coach Monty Williams’ rotation will change.
Morris was acquired by the Pistons during the summer. The veteran point guard provides the squad with another option behind Cade Cunningham, who was injured for the bulk of the 2022-23 season.
At the guard positions, the Pistons can also use Ivey and previous lottery pick Killian Hayes.
Detroit had one of the worst teams in the NBA last season, and the team may struggle to generate offense without Bogdanovic.
Only Ivey (16.3 points per game) and Cunningham (who played only 12 games) averaged more than 15 points per game for the Pistons last season.
Thompson, the No. 5 overall choice in the 2023 NBA Draft, might help compensate, but it may be too much to for the rookie to fill Bogdanovic’s scoring shoes on Wednesday.
The Heat, who reached the NBA Finals last season, would like to open the 2023-24 season with a victory. This offseason, the squad lost two rotation players in Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, but it should be among the better teams in the Eastern Conference again this season.
In the 2022-23 season, the Heat faced the Pistons three times, with Miami winning two of those games. The Pistons’ lone victory came earlier in the season (Dec. 6), but Miami won the final two encounters of the season.
It will be intriguing to see who starts for the Pistons in the first game.
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