Detroit Pistons: One thing to be worried about every Eastern Conference team
The Peers
Most of the Eastern Conference is evenly matched and there will be a logjam in the middle that might not get sorted out until the final game. Detroit will likely be neck and neck against these three teams all year and each offer a unique problem for the Pistons.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic were one of the surprise teams in the East last year, finishing as the seventh seed, one game ahead of Detroit. The Magic are sneaky good, with a roster that doesn’t feature anyone who immediately jumps out, but they are well coached and will offer a tough test for Detroit. The guy they must stop is Nikola Vucevic, who had his best season in 2018-19, averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds a game. Drummond should take this one personally, as Vucevic beat him out for the NBA All-Star team last season. Drummond thinks he’s better and should make more money, so he needs to prove it by keeping Vucevic off the boards and shutting him down.
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Miami Heat
As long as Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra are still around, the Heat will be a threat, though they finished out of the playoffs last season. The Heat lacked an identity last season and didn’t really have a go-to scorer. They do now, as Jimmy Butler joined the Heat, which should make them much better on both ends of the floor. Butler is the type of tall wing the Pistons had trouble with last season, so Detroit should be worried. Detroit could throw any combination of Snell, Morris or maybe even Brown at the Heat small forward and he’ll be a challenge for any of them. Detroit tried to get longer and better defensively at the wing in the off season in an effort to slow down guys like Butler. We’ll see if it worked.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets finished in the sixth seed last season, one game ahead of Detroit and will likely be a team the Pistons need to beat if they want to finish in the top half of the East. The Nets had a massive offseason, landing Henry Ellenson along with some guys called Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Durant will likely miss the entire season and Kyrie is difficult for most teams to stop, so the guy Detroit should worry about is Joe Harris. The sharp shooting small forward hit an incredible 47 percent from three last season. Detroit will need to stay at home against Harris and not allow him to get open looks from Kyrie’s penetration. Kyrie is a volume scorer but needs a lot of difficult shots to get his points. Detroit needs to worry about Harris and force Kyrie to beat them with long twos.