Detroit Pistons: One thing to be worried about every Western Conference team

Detroit Pistons Blake Griffin and Los Angeles Lakers Anthony Davis. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons Blake Griffin and Los Angeles Lakers Anthony Davis. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers Kyle Kuzma, Anthony Davis and LeBron James. (Photo by Cassy Athena/Getty Images) /

Big Changes in LA

Both teams from Los Angeles had busy off seasons that they hope will propel them into the NBA Finals. While both teams have flaws concerning health or depth, they also feature some of the most difficult problems for Detroit.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers had one of the busiest offseasons of any team, trading their draft rights until the year 3,000 for Paul George, then signing free agent superstar Kawhi Leonard, who might be the best player in the NBA. Barring injury, the Clippers will be very good and are favorites to make the Western Conference Finals.

More from PistonPowered

The Pistons have gotten killed by lengthy wings over the years, so the combination of George and Leonard should worry them. Detroit doesn’t really have a player to guard one of these guys, much less both. Leonard and George represent one of Detroit’s biggest problems: the wing. Detroit has not been able to develop the wing position, nor stop anyone else’s wings. Considering these are two of the best wings in the NBA, Detroit should be worried about the Clippers. They can really only hope that one or both is injured or managing minutes, otherwise the Clippers’ wings are going to dominate Detroit.

Los Angeles Lakers

In an effort to not be the second best team in their own building, the Lakers went out and traded all of their youth and future for superstar Anthony Davis. The Lakers have the strangest roster in the NBA, a mix of volatile personalities, grouchy veterans and a whole lot of size. The Lakers will be one of the biggest teams in the NBA and still have LeBron James, who wants to prove he has one more MVP season left in the tank.

LeBron has always beat up the Pistons, but what should really concern Detroit is Anthony Davis. To put it lightly, The Brow has eviscerated Detroit over the years. His combination of size and shooting is tough for Detroit to match up against. The Brow put up an incredible 59-point, 20-rebound game against Detroit in 2016 and only injuries kept him from doing it again last year. Detroit must slow down Anthony Davis to have a chance against the Lakers. The Lake Show is not deep, so slowing down their superstars, especially Davis, has to be the focus.

Next. One thing to be worried about from each East team. dark

Detroit will complete a couple of West coast swings but the Pistons will host the gauntlet of West contenders in March.