LOS ANGELES — The starters dug the Detroit Pistons into an early hole. The second unit — including several players who weren’t on the roster a week ago — dug them out of it.

A lineup featuring newcomers Troy Brown Jr. and Evan Fournier alongside Mike Muscala, Marcus Sasser and James Wiseman cut a 16-point deficit to eight by the start of the second quarter. The momentum kept rolling when another newcomer — Shake Milton — subbed in for Muscala (a long-tenured Pistons at all of ... 12 games).

Ultimately, though, no Pistons lineup was able to sustain a run long enough for a successful rally. The Lakers used a 17-2 run to take a 23-point halftime lead, putting the game away early.

Head coach Monty Williams hasn’t hesitated to lean on Detroit’s trade deadline acquisitions over the past week. Of the six players — Brown, Fournier, Milton, Simone Fontecchio, Malachi Flynn and Quentin Grimes — who have joined the team , all but the latter two have logged minutes, including all-bench lineups both during Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and Tuesday’s 125-111 loss to the Lakers.

3-AND-D TIME: New Piston Quentin Grimes can't wait to add his defense, winning mindset to team

The new Pistons are still figuring each other out, but Williams is encouraged by some of what he’s seen so far. Fontecchio tallied 20 points and nine rebounds in his debut on Saturday, and he, Brown, Fournier and Milton all tallied at least 18 minutes on Tuesday.

“It is what it is,” Williams said Tuesday night. “You make a trade like this, a lot of our continuity was off of our bench. The guys that aren’t here anymore, they knew how to play and they would settle the group down. Now Evan is probably going to take on some of that role. Those guys will figure it out.

“I like that group. That was the group that got us back in it late in the first and early in the second. And so will they figure it out? I’m sure they will, but it’s going to take some time. I liked how hard they played. I thought the starters started with a bit of a malaise tonight, and their starters came out and hit us right in the mouth, and that put us in a hole. The second group came in and got us going again. That was a good sign.”

Brown, Fontecchio and Milton didn't even get a shootaround before their Pistons debuts Saturday. With an extended stay in Los Angeles, though, the Pistons had long practices Sunday and Monday and a shootaround Tuesday morning, giving the newcomers needed time to acclimate themselves with their new teammates, Williams’ system and each other.

It’ll continue to be a work-in-progress; replacing a third of a team's roster rarely goes smoothly. But the team has remained competitive on the road despite the moves, defeating the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers back-to-back on Feb. 7-8 before a narrow loss to the Clippers on Saturday.

“I’m really glad we had that opportunity to practice a little bit, get to know each other a little bit more,” Fontecchio said. “Especially for me, the guys, the system, what Monty really wants me to do on the court, it’s important. I will need a little bit more time but I’m glad we had those two days.”

Detroit accomplished its deadline goal of adding defense and shooting without sacrificing offseason cap space, but the team will have to adjust to no longer having an experienced bench. Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic — who were 34 and 32, respectively — were as valuable for their roles as mentors as they were as scorers.

Williams suspects that the 31-year-old Fournier will be able to replace some of the departed veteran savvy. Fontecchio, at 28, has also been described as veteran-like in just his second season.

Ausar Thompson has been impressed with how quickly the new players have picked up certain concepts.

“I feel like they watch and they learn very quickly,” the rookie said. “It’s weird talking about them because they’ve been in the league longer than me, so what can I really say? From what I see, it’s like, coach says something and they grasp it very fast. They just know how to play basketball. They teach me things, like I haven’t been on the team. Like I just got here.”

The Pistons face the Suns in Phoenix on Wednesday before taking a week off for the All-Star break. The team expects to be healthy after the break. Isaiah Stewart, out since Jan. 28 with an ankle sprain, is nearing his return. Grimes, who has yet to make his debut while dealing with a knee sprain, isn’t expected to miss significant time.

But their absences delay the team’s ability to establish new roles. Grimes will likely be a significant part of the rotation as a strong wing defender who can knock down shots, and Stewart has been Williams’ preferred power forward with the first unit. Will Stewart push Fontecchio out of the starting lineup? How will Grimes’ addition impact minutes available for the other guards, such as Sasser?

With less than 30 games left, the Pistons still have questions. For now, they’re aware that, with all the roster churn, finding the answers will take time.

“It’s pretty normal,” Fontecchio said. “We’ve got six new guys. Gotta get to know each other. It’s gonna take awhile, but we’re on a good path. Everybody’s willing to do the right play, play hard on defense, crash the boards and try on offense.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons practice patience as deadline acquisitions acclimate