What are you thankful for Detroit Pistons fans?

It’s Thanksgiving day Detroit Pistons fans! What are you thankful for this holiday season?

It is the holiday season Detroit Pistons fans. So let’s celebrate the holidays the PistonPowered way.

What’s the PistonPowered way of celebrating the holidays you ask? In short, it’s loosely relating the holiday, whatever it may be at the time, to the Detroit Pistons.
Enjoy.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks—that’s what the name implies at least.

So, what are we thankful for Detroit Pistons fans?

Is it the surprising start to the season which has the Pistons firmly in the hunt for a home playoff game? Andre Drummond’s free throw shooting, energy, and defensive improvements? Tobias Harris’ offensive explosion? What about Reggie Jackson’s health? Or, is it the stellar defensive tandem of Avery Bradley and Stanley Johnson? Perhaps it’s the leadership and competency we’ve seen from Stan Van Gundy and Jeff Bower in assembling this competitive roster? Is it something else entirely?

For the sake of the exercise you can only pick one.

For me, and there are many that are close, it’s the improvements we’ve seen from Andre Drummond.

Guys and gals, I’m not going to lie to you, Drummond’s performance last season scared me. Drummond regressed so much that I really wondered if he ever bounced back.

It wasn’t just Drummond’s dip in play. Professional players have down seasons sometimes. It was he utter lack of intensity/focus, energy, and care that scared me. Players with character and integrity don’t quit, they don’t give up, and most importantly they play through adversity.

Fast forward a year and we find out that Drummond had been dealing with a deviated septum that contributed to his roller coaster play, and that his free throw shooting struggles had psychologically messed him up so bad that he lacked the confidence to try anything offensively.

Now that Drummond can breathe, his energy levels have been much less of a concern. He also spent last offseason getting in shape (losing 30 lbs) and working on his free throw shooting, which has also helped with his aggressiveness on offense.

Next: Detroit Pistons are good, but far from contenders at this point

Now, Drummond looks like an all-star and a legitimate building block for the future.
As it relates to the Pistons, that is what I am thankful for. What about you?