The Pistons entered the 2017/18 campaign with dreams of making the postseason but finished with a 39-43 record and a date with the lottery for the second straight year. The disappointing season brought changes in the Motor City, and with LeBron James out of the Central Division picture, the team may have an opportunity to rise in the standings.
Rod Beard of The Detroit News believes the best case scenario for the Pistons involves new coach Dwane Casey getting the team’s core to jell, thus getting the most out of the talent on the roster. Blake Griffin is in the midst of his first offseason with the club and he feels he’s at full health for the first time in several years.
Reggie Jackson is set to enter the season healthy after missing 37 games last season. Beard notes that the Pistons went just 12-25 during that span. Jackson’s presence on the court allows Detroit to get the most out of its other pieces, so having him healthy will be key this upcoming season.
The Pistons brought in Jose Calderon to mitigate the risk of a Jackson injury. Calderon may not see many minutes unless Jackson is sidelined, but if he’s called to action, he should be more effective at running the first team than Ish Smith, whose ball-dominant game is more suited for the second unit.
Offshore sportsbook Bovada has the Pistons’ over/under at 38.5 wins, the ninth-highest mark in the Eastern Conference and the third-highest in the Central Division. If Detroit can surpass its over/under by just a few wins, a playoff birth could be in the cards for this squad.
Do you believe the Pistons will surpass their projected win total and make the postseason? Do they have a chance to steal the Central Division crown in a weakened group? Or will they yet again fall short of their preseason goals?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Playoffs? It’s possible, sure, but it’s like a 6 or 7 seed at best. The Pistons strike me as a team that’s stuck in basketball purgatory. Not bad enough to tank but not good enough to contend. They’re just sort of there. Until they get some solid wing players and a better second unit, they’re going to stay this way.
As a Pistons fan, I can confirm they are indeed stuck in basketball purgatory however if things break right for some reason we could have a great year and get a 4 seed, maybe win a playoff series. At least we have some good players to watch and an exciting new arena entering year 2. Not every team can be a super team
So basically whoever has Blake Griffin is stuck in purgatory
SVG bankrupted the team that was trending up
Detroit is no more than a 7 or 8 seed in the East. Indy, Toronto, Washington, Milwaukee, Boston, Philly will occupy the 1-6 seeds. 7 and 8 will be one of Miami, Charlotte, or Detroit.
It is possible for the Pistons to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. They aren’t likely to be a high seed, but they certainly have a chance to finish as the 6, 7 o r 8 seed
DET, MIL & WAS will step past CLE & MIA. Pistons 7th. Their wings will at least shoot well but playmaking will be an issue.
Why talk about purgatory; only 3 teams have a chance at the title, 27 do not. Won’t-win-the-title is the standard status, nothing to be ashamed about. Getting better should be a good feeling!
Wrong. Every team can win. It’s a game and just because one group of guys has figured out how to play right with each other doesn’t mean they can’t be beat. If you’re one of these people who believe all people are equal, than why wouldn’t every team have the same chance of winning?
Yes, every team can be beaten, but the chance of 90% of the teams in the league beating the Warriors in a playoff series is negligible.
Warriors is not the only team with “guys who has figured out how to play right with each other”- nothing special about that. It’s them having 4 of the top 20 players that make them very very hard to beat. And, obviously, no other team has 4 of the top 20 players and those teams have no shot of getting such a Big 4.
Idk why you brought the “all people are equal” stuff up.
Since the Pistons paid big money for 3 vets in Drummond, Griffin, and Jackson, it would be very very hard to trade them all for assets. Might as well compete hard until the contracts come off the books and see whether to rebuild or sign better FAs to compete harder.
Agree! Should the rest of us all stop watching our teams?
I think as always Blake & Drummond will have a very good year, if this is enough to put them in the playoffs… I don’t know, I am not sure. As acarneglia mentioned 1-6 are Philly, Boston, Milwaukee, Washington, Toronto & Indiana… then really is not much left out there in the east, as there are 2 more teams needed for the playoffs, teams like Miami, Charlotte, Detroit & maybe Cleveland or Brooklyn might have a shot.
Reggie needs to not get injured. Blake needs to not get injured. Drummond needs to average at least 20 and 10 and not get injured (he doesn’t normally but same applies). Some of the young guys like SJ and LK need to pitch in. If all of the above take place they’ll be the 7th seed. I think Casey will make it happen. CLE gets the 8th seed over MIA.