5 reasons why the Detroit Pistons won’t make the playoffs

1. Reliance on Injury Prone Players

The offseason for Detroit was highlighted by the acquisition of Rose. The Rookie of the Year (2009) and League MVP (2011) is only a three-time All-Star of course due to his infamous Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury that plagued his career for so long.

After a season that warranted a “Comeback Player of the Year” label in Minnesota and a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year, Rose looks to blossom into the player he was in the Windy City. Rose’s career has been defined by injuries and is alongside Greg Oden and Brandon Roy in the “What if?” category of players who can’t stay on the court.

Rose’s first and most heart-breaking injury was in the first game of the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers, when Rose went for a jump stop layup, he landed on his knee funny and everyone in the world watching and Rose himself new he had torn his ACL. He was carried off by his teammates while crying as he knew his career would never be the same.

He missed the entire 2012-13 season but came back in 2013-14 with vengeance to tear up the league like he did in 2011-12. On Nov. 25, Rose tore his right meniscus which ruled him out of the rest of the season. Rose’s surgeries aren’t over yet as he tore is other meniscus while in New York (2016-17), and a right elbow injury ended his season early last year.

Griffin is undoubtedly the best Piston on the roster and the most important player to any success that this team could get. As previously mentioned, Griffin gave everything he had and had a career year and, in turn, it resulted in a beating in the first round at the hands of Giannis and the Bucks, and an injured Griffin.

Finishing last year with numbers that earned him a selection to the All-NBA Second Team, Griffin is playing his best basketball of his career at Little Caesars Arena. Throughout his 10 seasons, he’s played over 80 games three times, the last time was in 2013-14 when Chauncey Billups was his teammate, LeBron James was on the Heat, Kevin Durant on the Thunder, and Michael Carter-Williams was the Rookie of the Year.

Griffin was the focal point of the Pistons offense and was played to the max and only survived 75 games. He will likely play less than that number this year as the Pistons look to manage his load this season Dwane Casey said at Pistons’ media day.

Griffin and Rose look to be over their injuries as last season, as Rose’s career high came on last year’s Halloween. He turned the clock back and scored 50 points against the Utah Jazz. On the other hand, some of these stats will claim that Griffin’s over his injuries as he played the 17th most minutes, had 11.88 wins above replacement player, and had the 15th highest usage percentage at 30 percent. The Pistons were 9-12 last season when Griffin scored below 20 points and the Pistons were 2-5 without him. (All stats from Basketball-Reference.com)

Griffin is very similar to Rose when you think about it, two Rookies of the Year whose games rely heavily on athleticism, but their bodies have failed them, time and time again. Will the Pistons’ stars both have healthy years? I sure hope so.