Pistons start season in the Rockies
By J.M. Poulard
Essentials
- Game: Detroit Pistons at Denver Nuggets
- Date: October 29
- Time: 9:00 p.m.
- Television: FS Detroit
Get in the Game
It’s fitting that the Detroit Pistons open the season against the Denver Nuggets. Both are question marks within their respective conferences, and I’m not sure tonight’s game will provide any real answers quite yet.
Still, it should give us a bit of a glimpse at what we are looking at.
Let’s start with the Nuggets.
Denver might be the deepest team in the league when we look at their roster. It has two quality players at every position and poses a threat to blow the gates open merely by repeatedly sprinting up and down the court.
The Nuggets have the depth to pull it off, especially at home where the altitude eventually takes its toll on road teams. On the flipside, there isn’t that one great player on the Nuggets (sorry Ty Lawson) that can simply make everything click for his teammates.
What’s more, Brian Shaw incorporated a half-court system last year that essentially stymied Denver’s biggest strength. Indeed, after leading the league in fast break points during the 2012-13 season under George Karl (per Team Rankings), they dropped to eighth in Shaw’s first year on the job.
It’s worth noting that Denver didn’t have a post-up threat or a dominant perimeter player, which in turn resulted in a mediocre offense.
The Nuggets are bringing back virtually the same roster as last season, but one could say they’ve upgraded a little.
Danilo Gallinari and JaVale McGee appeared in a combined five games during the 2013-14 campaign, and that twosome is back. McGee’s rebounding coupled with Gallinari’s scoring should make Denver a more potent offensive team.
Also, the addition of Arron Afflalo gives the Nuggets some perimeter shooting as well as a 2-guard to post up against smaller defenders. And yet, despite these additions, I’m not sure if Denver will be a quality opponent this season, which also applies to the Pistons.
The trio of Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond should have led Detroit to the playoffs last year, but instead the Pistons only won 29 contests. The same players are in place for the most part, which should be enough to convince you this unit will have a repeat performance.
But there was a pretty big change in the offseason: the franchise hired Stan Van Gundy.
He’s had a history of implementing a strong defense and balanced offense, which has taken him to the postseason in every year he’s coached (he left the 2005-06 Miami Heat early in the year, and that squad won the title). As a result, one has to think he can use his acumen to steer Detroit into the right direction. And yet, there’s no real way to tell ahead of time whether the Pistons have what it takes to be successful.
Van Gundy will have to figure out how to dole out the minutes to Smith, Monroe and Drummond, which will likely determine the fate of this unit. That task will be nonexistent tonight with Monroe serving a two-game suspension for pleading guilty to impaired driving in April.
His absence robs Van Gundy of perhaps his best low-post scorer and passer on the team. Thus, there’s a chance the offense won’t look competent to start out of the season, but that shouldn’t last too long. Tonight’s contest should be a fairly difficult one for the Pistons, but one can’t help but feeling like Van Gundy’s crew caught a break here.
With Detroit opening the campaign in Denver, it means they get a chance to play the Nuggets with fresh legs as opposed to catching them on the second leg of a back to back. Expect the team to win the battle on the boards to secure a win tonight.
Enjoy the opener folks!
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