The Detroit Pistons are primed for their best season in a long time. Here are the 3 biggest reasons why this is the best roster over the last decade.
It’s no secret that in the last 10 years or so, the Detroit Pistons have been anything but great. Making the playoffs twice in a decade and being swept both times aren’t exactly things to be proud of as a fan.
Coming off of being swept by the Eastern Conference Finals bound Milwaukee Bucks, the Pistons are looking to make some noise in a wide opened Eastern Conference. Here are the 3 reasons why this is the best Detroit Pistons roster in over a decade and why this team could make some real noise this season.
Number 1: Coaching
Spanning from 2009-19, the Detroit Pistons have been led by 7 different head coaches, the longest tenured being Stan Van Gundy from 2014-18. This has led to a lack of consistent leadership at the head coaching position adding more instability to an already unstable franchise.
Then came Dwane Casey, the 2018 Coach of the Year with the Toronto Raptors, and while he couldn’t coach the Detroit Pistons to a winning record in 2019, they were able to break even at 41-41 and sneak their way into the playoffs as the eighth seed.
It’s never easy for a head coach in the first year they coach a team. Casey toyed around with different lineups and rotations all throughout the season trying to find consistency. It’s still unclear what the starting lineup and backup unit will be coming into next season as Casey needs to keep in mind the way certain players fit with each other.
An example of this is that while many Pistons fans argue that Luke Kennard should start since he’s the best wing on the team, his numbers on the court at the same time as Blake Griffin are drastically lower than when he’s playing with the bench unit.
Casey isn’t perfect and often struggles at making in-game adjustments, but he excels at giving his players confidence and developing young talent, areas that previous regimes showed much incompetency.
Going into his second year as the Pistons head coach, Casey will have a roster that is more catered to his style and with his development, every player should feel more confident in their abilities and fans of the team should see much improvement across the board, especially from the young guys, leading me into my next point.