Pistons coach Dwane Casey wishing he had more exhibition games

Detroit — There are no do-overs, not even in the preseason.

The Pistons finished their exhibition schedule on Friday, and with just a few days until the regular-season opener on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls, there’s so much that they still need to do.

Although they played four preseason games, the Pistons still haven’t seen their projected starting lineup play together at all, because Cade Cunningham suffered a sprained ankle two weeks ago and hasn’t been able to practice fully since. Within the past week, Killian Hayes has suffered a concussion and Saddiq Bey also had a sprained ankle.

Being down three starters makes finding a good chemistry significantly more difficult, but just seeing the full five play together would be a stark improvement over the bad luck the Pistons have had on the injury front.

The Pistons scheduled only four preseason games, while other NBA teams chose to play five, or even six, in a couple of cases. It’s all up to the individual teams to figure out how much they want to challenge their teams before the start of the regular season.

“I wish we had a couple more exhibition games. If I had to do it over again, we probably would have had more,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said Friday, “but we have what we have and that's what we're going try to look for, and we have three more good days of practice.”

More: Pistons mailbag: Is Killian Hayes better off bench? Is Ben Simmons worth the price?

The injuries have complicated the problem for the Pistons, and just getting the lineups and rotations that they want to evaluate. Casey also wants to develop chemistry with two of the new players, Kelly Olynyk and Trey Lyles, with the second unit, which has the potential to be one of the team’s strengths.

With a shorthanded starting lineup, the Pistons have been forced to move some of those reserves into the starting group, which makes that evaluation and assessment process a little stickier.

“That's why you want more exhibition games and to get to get everybody healthy and to go through it. We had a rash of ankle injuries, so it kind of set us back,” Casey said. “Everybody in the league is going through injuries, so it's no excuse. It just takes you a little while to get the rotations, who fits with whom, and who plays with whom, down pat.

“We know some of the guys that were here last year what they can do and how they go to react under pressure, but it's a little bit different when you're trying to integrate a guy like Kelly, a guy like Trey, even to see how Kilian reacts. He's had one game and it's unfortunate, but you know we have to find that out pretty quick.”

Not knowing what the preseason would hold, the Pistons opted for four games, but it’s a number that Casey and his staff may think more about in the future, learning from this experience. Those schedules are made in the offseason, so it’s hard to project forward, but it’s something to consider.

“At the time (in the summer), we thought with maybe that we needed more practice time and definitely didn't see the rash of injuries coming. It's no fault — it's something that we have to think about the next time we make our summer exhibition schedule,” Casey said. “Do we need an extra couple games? Even though the starters may not play in all of that just to get the game feel for the guys for young team.”

Drummond reunion

Former Pistons center Andre Drummond played his first game back at Little Caesars Arena as an opponent, starting for the Sixers on Friday night.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers said that Drummond, who finished the season with the Lakers last year, is carving a niche for himself in Philadelphia as a reserve behind Joel Embiid.

“He's been great; he's been one of those guys that the guys love, and he’s been a great light,” Rivers said. “I'm pushing him, and it was one of the calls I made and I told him, ‘I'm not going to just let you be you, man.’

“That's part of what I have to do, and he's allowed it; he's been great at it.”

rod.beard@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard