Pistons' Monroe to come off bench in season debut Saturday

Detroit Pistons big man Greg Monroe will make his season debut at home Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets after serving a two-game suspension. 

Monroe will come off the bench, allowing the pairing of Josh Smith and Andre Drummond to continue as the starting frontcourt. It's not necessarily going to be the plan moving forward, said coach Stan Van Gundy, but Monroe did come off the bench often during the preseason. 

"Everything right now is a short-term plan," Van Gundy said. 

The 6-foot-11 Monroe had started his previous 229 games over a span of three seasons, during which he averaged 15.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Monroe was suspended for the first two games of the season without pay after pleading guilty to driving while visibly intoxicated.