5 reasons to believe in the Detroit Pistons in 2019-20 season
5. Improved Heath
Most NBA fan bases get excited over the signing of a new player, or a coach, or even a general manager. Only Pistons fans get excited over the signing of a training consultant.
When Arnie Kander was brought back to the Pistons in the offseason leading up to the 2018-19 season, Piston fans rejoiced. In case you are unaware, Kander was for a longtime the Pistons trainer until he decided to resign in 2015 after 23 years with the team. Kander is renowned around the league as a training guru so his return to the Pistons was greatly appreciated.
Related Story. Why Are Pistons Fans Excited About Arnie Kander?. light
The results speak for themselves. In the two seasons without Kander (2016-17 and 2017-18) Jackson appeared in only 97 of the possible 164 games due to various injuries. Even when Jackson was able to play he did not look like his usual explosive self and even said he was pondering retirement.
Upon Kander’s return in the 2018-19 season Jackson played a full 82 games and looked like his old explosive self again. Kander’s return benefited not only Jackson, but also Griffin who had a long history of being an injury prone player. In 2018-19 Griffin appeared in 75 of 82 games.
For these two players who have had years and years of unfortunate seasons derailed due to injuries to suddenly bounce back and play nearly the entire season is incredible and speaks volumes to Kander’s impact on the roster.
This upcoming season the Pistons added Rose to the mix who is another injury prone player. Having three of the most important players on your roster all be injury prone is a cause for concern, but the Pistons are hoping that Kander can continue to work his magic and keep the players healthy.
They say the best asset a player can have is durability. A player is useless if he is unable to play, so if the Pistons can remain healthy this season that will go a long way towards the team’s success.
The trio of Jackson, Griffin, and Rose all are fully healthy and for the first time in a long time they get to spend their offseasons working on skills and not on rehab. This is a very good sign for the Pistons as all three will enter the season fresh and ready for the long season ahead.