AUBURN HILLS – Bruce Brown won’t provide a lot of offense, and he’ll experience some bad shooting nights. But Brown right now is a better fit in the Detroit Pistons starting lineup than Luke Kennard due to his quickness, hustle and defense.

Brown, the rookie guard, likely will make his sixth consecutive start Saturday when the Pistons face the Utah Jazz at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).

Pistons coach Dwane Casey said he likes Brown’s disposition.

“At the start of the game we have two big guys (Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin), so we’re probably not as fast as other teams at the start,” Casey said. “(Brown’s) speed, his quickness, his grind, his mental toughness kind of sets the tone for that first unit.”

Brown has shot just 29 percent from the floor, including 18 percent on 3-pointers, the past five games, but Casey likes the other elements he brings.

“Mainly his speed, his speed running the floor, his speed of cutting,” Casey said. “And his shooting has improved. The young man is growing up in front of our eyes, and his attention to detail. He’s getting it done. The future is bright for him.”

Kennard, meanwhile, seems more comfortable coming off the bench. He is averaging 12.8 points on 48 percent shooting (44 percent from 3-point range) as a reserve the past four games. In seven starts before that, he averaged 7.4 points while shooting 40 percent.

“He’s going to make mistakes. My (message) to Luke is make hard mistakes,” Casey said. “I didn’t think he did that in those games he started. I didn’t think he was running hard, I didn’t think he was defending hard, I didn’t think he was being aggressive coming off pick and rolls, coming off soft passes.”

He’s doing that off the bench, Casey said.

“It’s a big difference,” Casey said. “He’s got too much talent to not be aggressive, not run the floor hard, not cut hard. I’m not being critical at all. I’m trying to get the most out of him.”

Griffin taking charge

Griffin has drawn 17 charging calls, which leads the NBA and pleases Casey.

“I had it in Toronto with Kyle Lowery, big charge-taker guy,” Casey said. “When you see your superstar get in harm’s way, take a charge, that tells you exactly what you should be about. He does a great job with that.”

Griffin knows how to take a charge while protecting himself to avoid injury.

“There’s a way you take it, a way you protect yourself, a way you kind of absorb the hit without taking the full blow,” Casey said. “Blake does a good job of it.”

That speaks to the kind of toughness Casey wants to see in other areas.

“The other thing I’m big on and we got to do a better job with is verticality at the rim,” Casey said. “More vertical. Not just trying to go up and block a shot. You’re not going to block a lot of guys’ shots. It’s basically taking a charge in the air. More straight up, you got to jump. It’s another good way that you can protect the rim that we can improve on.”

Pistons to miss LeBron

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Friday that LeBron James will miss at least another week with a groin strain. That means James won’t be in the lineup Wednesday when the Pistons visit Staples Center.

The Lakers visit Detroit on March 15.