The Detroit Pistons have been one of the worst teams in the NBA in recent years, but things are starting to look up for the proud organization. The rebuild was difficult as the Pistons had some of the worst NBA Draft lottery luck that the sport has ever seen, but they are now led by Cade Cunningham, the star that they selected when the lottery worked out for them. Cunningham is quickly becoming one of the best players in the NBA, and he is a major reason why the Pistons are in position to make the playoffs.
Someone else who has played a big role in the success of the Pistons this year is head coach JB Bickerstaff. Despite having a lot of success with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bickerstaff was let go after last season, and the Pistons snatched him up. It’s looking like an outstanding hire so far as Bickerstaff has the Pistons playing some really good basketball right now.
The Pistons won just 14 games last year as they finished the season with a 14-68 record. That was the worst record in the NBA, and the team wasn’t expected to be very good this year either. However, the Pistons are currently 31-26 and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. If the season ended today, the Pistons would make the playoffs.
It’s hard to believe based on where this team has been in recent years, but barring a major collapse, the Pistons are going to be a postseason team. They obviously still have a lot of work to do as there is another month and a half left in the regular season, but Detroit is in great shape right now.
Remember, only the top-six teams in each conference make it to the playoffs. The other two spots are decided by the NBA play-in tournament. So, if the Pistons slip down a spot in the standings, they will no longer be in playoff position, but rather in play-in tournament position.
The main goal for the Pistons at this point is obviously to finish in the top-six and make the playoffs, but if you told Detroit fans that their team would make the play-in tournament at the beginning of the season, they would’ve been ecstatic. Now, that would be a disappointment based on where the team is this late in the season.
It’s looking like the Pistons will probably end up in the 4-6 seed range when all is said and done, but anything can happen. The Pistons have separated themselves from the Orlando Magic a bit as they are three games ahead of seventh place. Detroit is six games back of the third place New York Knicks, so it’s unlikely that they catch them, but the four and five seeds are well within reach. The Pistons are currently two games back of fourth place and 1.5 games back of fifth place.
The Pistons have made a ton of progress this season, and it’s an exciting time to be a fan of the team. However, there is always room to be better, and if Detroit actually wants to become a true threat to make a run in the postseason, they need to improve defensively.
The Pistons rank 17th in points allowed
You know what they say: Defense wins championships. The Pistons have some outstanding scorers on the team this year, but to be a true contender, they need to improve defensively. Their defensive ranking could be worse, but when you look at the teams near the top, it’s easy to see how important of a statistic this is.
The Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder are both in the top-three, and those are two of the best teams in the NBA. When the playoffs roll around, the teams that can defend the best typically have the most success.
It can be hard to judge a team on their defense in the regular season when it isn’t either one of the best in the league or one of the worst. With the way that NBA games are played in this era, there often is a ton of intense defense played in the regular season, and games are often won on the offensive end. However, things are different in the postseason. When the Pistons get into the playoffs, they will likely be going up against some of the best defensive teams in the league. They’re going to need to bring it on that end of the floor if they want to make a run.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to critique this Pistons team too much. There isn’t a squad in the NBA that has been through the wringer recently like Detroit, and the turnaround that they have orchestrated this season has been incredibly impressive. The Pistons are not only good enough to make the playoffs, but they are capable of winning a series or two. It’s going to be exciting to see how this team closes out the regular season, and how they fare in the postseason if they end up making it.
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