Final Thoughts on Pistons’ 2016-2017 Season

After a couple of weeks with no Detroit Pistons basketball, we’ve come to the point in the offseason where anticipation builds for the draft and impending free agency of a few key players.

First off, we have the big question: what exactly doomed the Detroit Pistons season? The surefire answers right off the bat are “Andre Drummond‘s energy and effort, and Reggie Jackson‘s injury changed his style.” These are the easy answers to what went wrong this season. While they are definitely contributing factors, the Pistons lacked in one blanket topic – consistency. Let’s take a look at how they did in that regard.

This was a rollercoaster of a season. The Pistons had strong surges at times but the season was defined by its doldrums. They went 8-4 in February, only to sink into irrelevance in March with a 6-11 record. This is where the season was lost. The Pistons deteriorated from their February averages (105.4 points per game, 33.1 three-point percentage and 73.1 free throw percentage)  to dismal levels in March (98.6 points per game, 28.8 three-point percentage and 67.7 free throw percentage).

A team can’t attempt to lead a charge into the postseason posting these numbers. The Pistons shooters got cold outside and could barely get help at the free throw line.

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While Andre Drummond had a sluggish season compared to last year’s breakout All Star campaign, his teammates couldn’t pick up the slack on a nightly basis. Drummond had three games with both 20 points and 20 rebounds this past season, but the Pistons went just 1-2 in those games.

This is a team that struggled to function together as a unit. . So are there changes ahead this coming offseason? Stan Van Gundy doesn’t plan to make big changes. Which can be backed up from a source quoted by the Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis reporting that the Pistons plan on matching any offer sheet to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. As Van Gundy says, “We can’t lose him.” The brief quote states so much with so few words. The Pistons cannot contend next year without Caldwell-Pope, so unless they can move some money around to fit him, the Pistons will dip into luxury tax next season.

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Another player to consider is Aron Baynes. He provided the best defense on the court a defensive rating of just 98.5 points per 100 possessions with a net rating of +5.2. While he’s suggested he has unfinished business in Detroit, all indications are that he’ll opt out of his contract in favor of taking a huge raise elsewhere.

Finally, we take a look at Andre Drummond and Boban Marjanovic, next season’s likely center duo.. Marjanovic didn’t get nearly as many minutes as perhaps he should have, some of that was Van Gundy not trusting his defensive ability, and some of it was Baynes simply earning his spot as the backup center. But when Marjanovic got minutes, he showed up enough to have some consider him for taking Baynes’ soon-to-be vacant spot.

Overall, Stan Van Gundy’s unit should remain as similar as possible to this year’s squad. And the reason is because Van Gundy has high hopes for his two headlining players. According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN) Van Gundy shared his feelings on the big man. “I think he needs to have a sense of urgency to elevate his game…the sky is the limit for him.” Straight from the verified social media of the Detroit Pistons Stan is quoted discussing how Jackson’s best is yet to come, “I’m excited for what he’ll be able to do next year. I think he’ll be even better than he was two years ago.”

Next: VIDEO: A farewell to the Palace of Auburn Hills

Let’s keep the rebuild moving strong.