The Detroit Pistons added some talent this offseason, but how does their offseason compare to their rivals? Brooklyn, Orlando, and Miami all made moves.
With the offseason slowing down as the league transition to the upcoming 2019-20 season, the Detroit Pistons are gearing up for another postseason appearance.
They’ve had acquisitions such as Derrick Rose, Tony Snell, and Markieff Morris to flesh out the depth chart and the starting rotation. How do these acquisitions stack up against the teams in the East that are also vying for the postseason?
The Pistons squeaked into the postseason last year with a 41-41 record. The Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets both finished above with records of 42-40. The Indiana Pacers, an inter-division rival, finished at 48-34. Below the cutoff, the Miami Heat finished at 39-43. Some of these teams improved their rosters significantly, while others not so much.
Some think that the Detroit Pistons could potentially win 50 games, like my colleague Nicolas Henkel wrote. Others, like Caesars Sportbook, place the Pistons at 37.5 projected wins. The Nets jumped to 47 wins, the Heat at 43.5 wins, the Pacers will finish with 48.5 wins, and the Magic at 40.5, according to Caesars. It’s no surprise that the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers are at the top of the board for the Eastern Conference yet again with 57 and 54.5, respectively.
Pistons at 37.5 wins seems low but I get it
— Duncan Smith (@DuncanSmithNBA) July 25, 2019
The Detroit Pistons, who upgraded their disappointing bench unit from last season, are expected to lose more games this upcoming season than the previous one. If I were a betting man, I’d take the over on this one.
The Detroit Pistons will be fighting for a low seed come April. Depending on how things shape up in the East, the eighth seed might be occupied by the Motor City once again.
When you build a roster around players that have a significant injury history, the plan is to play just well enough to make it to the postseason, but did the Pistons make enough additions to win games, even if they get bitten by the injury bug? We’ll find out just what the team is made of during the ups-and-downs of the season.
In the meantime, taking a look at how the Pistons stack up against their Eastern Conference competition, Detroit will certainly have its challenges.