Detroit Pistons Preview: What could go wrong?
1. What aspect of this team are you most skeptical of heading into the season?
Braden Shackelford: Shooting guard. I had hoped we’d seen more consistency from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the preseason, but so far it’s been much of the same. At least Jodie Meeks has shown the touch from distance again and Reggie Bullock has looked good.
Brady Fredericksen: Defense. I talked about it yesterday, but if Drummond isn’t better on that end it’s going to be rough. I’m also not sold on any of the wings — yes, even the beloved rookie Stanley Johnson — as consistent defenders, either. Caldwell-Pope shows flashes, but flashes don’t win games.
Tim Thielke: Their ability to create high percentage opportunities on anything approaching a regular basis. Reggie Jackson can create some opportunities but defenders can play off him a bit. After that, maybe Johnson or Drummond can put on some moves, but I’ll wait until I see it to count on it. The fact that the role players are only good shooters, not great ones, and most aren’t particularly great at swinging the ball around also limits the ability of the team to break down a defense.
Duncan Smith: I’m skeptical of the defense. This team doesn’t have a stopper of any sort, and it’s possible that Johnson might be the best defender on the roster. I’m trying to think of somebody who is for sure better, and so help me I can’t think of one who is a lock to be better.
Mike Davidson: Consistency on both ends, but I’ll go with offensive consistency. They don’t have a player on the roster who has demonstrated the ability to carry an offense night in and night out. Jackson, KCP and Drummond have shown flashes of the ability to do that, but whether it happens this season remains to be seen.
DeMarcus R. Garrett: Their ability to close out games. A close second is certainly the defense, but without Greg Monroe’s steady presence in the post, it’s likely the Pistons will struggle to find a reliable source of points at the end of really tight games, especially early on in the season. Now, if the Pistons could rely on their defense at the end of games, this wouldn’t be much of a concern, but an offensively structured team that can’t score points when it needs them most is certain to run into problems.
Tim Brokke: Defense. Van Gundy said several times that Monroe was the best post defender on the team. It’s hard to imagine this team being good enough on that end to find themselves in the postseason.
Christopher Crowder: Shooting guard. Caldwell-Pope will start, and hasn’t been a weakness while he’s been in Detroit, but hasn’t yet shot as well behind the arc or been able to score as well as Pistons fans expected. Meeks and, recently, Bullock should rack up valuable minutes at the position, but all will have to shoot better for the offense to be as successful as it is capable of.
Ricky LaBlue: The shooting guard position worries me a lot. Caldwell-Pope has yet to show he can be even an average starter in the NBA. Meeks is awful on defense and other than those two options, there isn’t much left. Caldwell-Pope needs to make a huge leap.
Anthony Morgan: Backup point guard until Brandon Jennings returns. Spencer Dinwiddie has been very disappointing during the preseason, and Steve Blake is 35 years old. One of the two needs to provide some quality minutes off the bench and I’m not exactly sold on either to get it done.
Next: Between Ersan Ilyasova, Stanley Johnson and Marcus Morris, who has the highest probability to flop this season?