Where do the Detroit Pistons rank with other teams in the city?

The city of Detroit finally has all four of it’s professional sports teams playing downtown again. Where do the Detroit Pistons rank among the other teams?

The Detroit Pistons are one of four professional sports teams in the city right now. Based on the current state of each team, where do the Pistons fall in line?

Right now, the city of Detroit has witnessed much better days as far as the success of these teams go. In 2017, the Detroit Lions were the only team to finish with a winning record.

That says a lot. When is the last time you could say that about these four teams? You would have to go back to the days of Barry Sanders and the Pontiac Silverdome most likely.

1. Detroit Lions

It’s mind-boggling that the Lions are first on this list. They’ve had winning seasons in three out of their last four seasons. There’s been two playoff appearances in that same time.

The Lions have a franchise quarterback in Matthew Stafford. With continuing efforts to improve the offensive line and the running game, it’s likely that this team will be an offensive juggernaut this coming season.

Detroit still has some questions on the defensive side of the ball. They have play-makers like Darius Slay and Ziggy Ansah but still not the greatest depth.

Matt Patricia branched out from the New England Patriots organization to take his first head coaching job with the Lions. He brings a lot of knowledge and previous success with him.

Patricia always excelled with having little resources on defense in New England. The Lions are in a ‘win now’ state with the tools they have. Don’t be surprised if they get over the hump this year.

2. Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are also in the ‘win now’ mind-state. With two all-star caliber players in the front court, Detroit is looking to get back into the post season for just second time second time in the last ten years.

Health has been one of their biggest concerns over the last two seasons. Point guard Reggie Jackson has gone down with injuries the last two seasons now. The team plays much better when he’s directing the show and it’s obvious.

There’s new leadership in the front office now. Ed Stefanski was hired into a senior advisory role to report directly to owner Tom Gores. Dwane Casey is the new head coach as well.

The Pistons have a difficult financial situation right now. A lot of money is tied up between Jackson, Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. It’ll be interesting to see how they plug in pieces around them to make this team a real contender.

With LeBron James out of the Eastern Conference, it’ll be much easier for Detroit to get back into the postseason. How will they match up with the other heavy-hitters left in the East?

3. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings are in a difficult situation just like the Detroit Pistons. There’s is much different, however. The Red Wings are in a transitional period where they have older players with expiring contracts moving out and younger players making their way up through the ranks.

Ken Holland was brought back on a contract extension in April to continue being the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. He’s taken a lot of criticism for how he’s handled this roster for the last decade.

However, he drafted two very good prospects in this year’s draft that might help speed up the rebuilding process. They got two players who fell further than they should’ve in the first round. Filip Zadina fell into their lap at sixth overall.

Zadina is a big-time goal scorer that can make an impact right away at the NHL level. Detroit also drafted forward Joe Veleno with the 30th pick.

They add to the young core that the Red Wings already have. It’ll be interesting to see how the team looks in the years to come. They are are still ways away from Stanley Cup contention.

4. Detroit Tigers

It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago when the Tigers were one of the best teams in baseball. They missed their window of opportunity and are now re-tooling their roster with young talent.

After cutting their payroll and dumping a lot of their big contributors, many expected this team to lose around 100 games this season. So far, they’ve exceeded those expectations.

The Tigers have fallen off but have young players playing key roles that will help with their development. With a lot of good prospects working their way up through the minors, fans will have to be patient for the next couple of years.

It will be well worth it. The team is in good hands with manager Ron Gardenhire.