Tobias Harris entered this season on an expiring contract, so the Detroit Pistons will have one eye open for his long-term replacement, and that person may already be on the roster in Isaiah Stewart.
The Pistons’ power forward depth has been a question mark, as they only have Harris and second-year player Ron Holland II since Beef Stew moved back to full-time center.
But with Harris out with an injury against Memphis last night, Stewart got the start and had his best game of the season, with 24 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in 34 minutes.
Stewart only made two of his eight attempts from 3-point range, but [his willingness to take them](https://pistonpowered.com/game-changing-isaiah-stewart-evolution-already-underway-detroit-pistons) and his ability to knock them down has added a new dimension to the Pistons’ offense.
Stew has hit half of his 3-point attempts this season, though he could still increase his volume, as he’s only shooting 2.3 of them per game. Compare that to Tobias Harris, who is launching 4.7 attempts per game but only hitting 28 percent of them so far this season.
Harris’ accuracy will eventually return, but Stewart is showing that he has the shooting touch to spread the floor and that the two-big lineups can work.
Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren: Return of the two bigs
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This duo was much maligned the first time around, when Monty Williams foolishly tried to make Stewart a power forward.
The results were predictably disastrous on offense, but a lot has changed since then. [Cade Cunningham has turned into a superstar](https://pistonpowered.com/cade-cunningham-took-criticism-heart-esponded-epic-fashion-detroit-pistons) who demands double teams every time he touches the ball, which wasn’t the case two years ago.
He also has a better supporting cast around him, with better shooting, slashing and passing. Jalen Duren is a threat that he wasn’t in the past, and the Pistons’ offense overall is better, so this isn’t the exact same context for the two-big experiment.
NBA teams are increasingly running two big players, as the Pistons have already encountered with Houston, Orlando and Cleveland, so having Beef Stew’s size, physicality and defense out there is a big boost over Harris, who is a capable and willing defender, but not at the level fo Stewart.
If Stewart can continue to shoot and make 3-point shots, there is no reason why he can’t take up the starting job once Tobias Harris’ time with the Pistons is up. Stewart immediately sets a defensive tone that the Pistons have been missing early in games, though he is certainly not the security blanket Harris is offensively.
If Stewart can play the four at least some of the time, it also opens up more trade opportunities for the Pistons. Right now, every trade proposal includes Tobias Harris because of his big expiring contract, and it would be easier to give him up if the replacement were already on the team, otherwise, the Pistons are left super thin at the four spot unless a power forward is coming back in the trade.
Stewart isn’t going to take Harris’ starting spot this season, but knowing he and Duren can co-exist gives the Pistons more versatility.