Ten Years of Detroit Pistons Basketball Reviewed
Record: 39-43 (9th in Eastern Conference)
Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy
Offensive Rating: 107.2 (19th in NBA)
Defensive Rating: 107.3 (10th in NBA)
Draft Additions:
Luke Kennard (1st round,12th pick)
Free Agent/Trade Additions:
Blake Griffin
Langston Galloway
Depth Chart:
Point Guard: Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Dwight Buycks, Jameer Nelson, Kay Felder
Shooting Guard: Avery Bradley, Luke Kennard, Langston Galloway
Small Forward: Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock, James Ennis
Power Forward: Blake Griffin, Tobias Harris, Anthony Tolliver, Henry Ellenson, Jon Leuer
Center: Andre Drummond, Boban Marjanović
Best Players: Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, Tobias Harris, Ish Smith
This is yet another season hampered by unfortunate injuries to Pistons starting point guard Reggie Jackson. The Pistons were playing great when Jackson went down with a right ankle sprain. Ish Smith once again was forced to play starting point guard with Dwight Buycks and Jameer Nelson sharing the responsibility of backing him up. Smith did his part but neither Nelson nor Buycks could provide solid backup minutes and the team floundered.
Stanley Johnson, who was expected to flourish in his opportunity to get minutes with Marcus Morris gone, failed to meet expectations. The blow of Johnson not living up to his potential was softened by the surprise emergence of former G-League player Reggie Bullock, who proved he belonged in the NBA and could be a valuable role player as well as Tobias Harris who exploded on the scene as an efficient go-to scorer for the team.
The real news of the season came on January 29th when the Pistons traded Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanović, and two picks to acquire Blake Griffin, Willie Reed, and Brice Johnson. This was a risky trade for the Pistons because while Griffin had not been fully healthy in many seasons it was clear that if he did remain healthy he was a top power forward and a top player in this league.
When the trade went through there was hope that Griffin could claw the Pistons into the playoffs with the season waning. The playoff push fell short and the Pistons failed to make it into the playoffs finishing the season 39-43 which was good for ninth in the eastern conference. With a full offseason for Griffin to get healthy and acquaint himself with his new team, the fan base and the NBA as a whole was eager to see what the Pistons could do the following season.