The Detroit Pistons made it back to the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference last season but couldn’t muster much more than that. For all intents and purposes, that was a success for a team that hadn’t been a postseason participant for many years.
After a relatively quiet offseason, basketball fans in Motown are hoping their team can build on last year’s accomplishments. The Pistons appear poised to take another step forward this year but they will have an uphill climb trying to make ground in the standings with a number of other teams coming off season offseason periods. Detroit has the talent and depth to be among the top-eight but their ability to get into the second round of the playoffs will depend on the growth of a young roster.
Offseason Changes
The Detroit Pistons didn’t lose any key players this offseason but they did manage to add some intriguing pieces in Jon Leuer and rookie first-round pick Henry Ellenson. Both should make immediate impacts coming off the bench with Leuer providing some secondary scoring as the first man off the bench behind Tobias Harris.
This is a roster that really didn’t need a whole lot in terms of changes. They are young and developing, and needed to keep things intact to grow together. That’s why the Detroit Pistons mostly stood pat and let other teams throw big money around.
Strengths
Andre Drummond emerged as the dominant big man that so many expected him to be last season and there is every reason to expect him to continue his progression this season. Detroit owns one of the better inside-outside tandems in the Eastern Conference with Drummond and Reggie Jackson, who also had an excellent first year with the Pistons as a full-time starter. Remember that many people mocked the Pistons for signing Jackson to a lavish contract but when you consider what kind of money was thrown around this offseason and how good of a player Jackson proved to be for the Detroit Pistons, that contract now looks like a steal.
Tobias Harris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson are all primed to take another step forward among the key young pieces on the roster and the expectation remains the same for both Drummond and Jennings. Stan Van Gundy is one of the best coaches in the NBA and he proved last season he can get the most out of the talent at his disposal.
Weaknesses
Van Gundy will maximize the potential of the roster by putting his players in position to succeed and demanding the most out of them in terms of hard work. However, he would clearly be better off with some star power and that is where Detroit is lacking. With the exception of Drummond, the Pistons don’t have a single player in the top-10 at their position. Detroit will also be relying heavily on some young and inexperienced youth at their core and that could lead to inconsistency throughout the season.
The other main issue on this team is identity. Yes, Drummond and Jackson are the main foundational pieces but where does Caldwell-Pope fit in? Is Johnson going to be more a roleplayer or one of the key scorers? The Pistons need to do a better job of defining the roles of the players on this team and then letting them grow into those spots.
Outlook
Even with their relative inexperience, the Detroit Pistons have the potential to be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference with enough talented core pieces to repeat after last year’s return to the postseason. Jennings and Drummond will both be expected to continue their progression while Harris, Caldwell-Pope and Johnson are expected to take on bigger roles.
If we start to see some of their youngsters change from players with potential to players who are primetime, then we might finally see the Pistons emerge as a real power player in the Eastern Conference. They’re a team loaded with potential and a bright future, but how far they climb in the East depends on how their young players develop.
Prediction: 3rd in Central Division; 7th in Eastern Conference
