The Detroit Pistons are the best team in the Eastern Conference according to its record through two weeks, surprising to say the least. However, it’s success has been a combination of multiple surprising story lines. So who, or what has been the most surprising?
The Detroit Pistons, and its fans, couldn’t have asked for a better start to the regular season.
Through seven games, the Pistons are the best team in the East–I know, it’s almost too good to be true.
While the Pistons’ record so far–with both the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers having been part of that stretch, both leading to wins–a complete shocker, what has been the most shocking or surprising aspect of this season for the Pistons?
There’s a lot of options to choose from.
Stanley Johnson has been incredibly impressive, in my opinion, after what was a disappointing and frustrating last couple of seasons with Detroit. He’s shown enough to make me believe that he can be an excellent two-way player in the NBA.
Then there’s the resurgence of Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, both of whom have battled their fair share of disappointment for one reason or another.
Through seven games, the both appear to be as good as they’ve ever been, and in Drummond’s case, even better.
That’s three surprises already and there’s STILL MORE.
How about the Pistons’ 21.9 points per game scorer Tobias Harris, who looks like an all-star so far? His improvement is evident, and he looks like he might have turned the corner, going from a good player to a great player, which is often one of the more difficult jumps to make in sports.
Finally, there’s the bench, which as a unit has been incredibly good. We could go on with a few individual performances from that group too.
However, for me, the biggest surprise has to be Andre Drummond, specifically, his free throw shooting.
Drummond wasn’t bad last year from the free throw line, he was historically bad.
Now? He’s a 70% free throw shooter with a solid sample size. Moreover, his energy level and play defensively has really turned a corner.
I thought there was still a chance Drummond might turn his game around defensively, but I never in a million years would have thought he would be a 70% free throw shooter 20 attempts for the season.
Next: How do you feel about the Detroit Pistons now?
Now, your turn.