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

5. The Rest of the Eastern Conference

This is no Eastern Conference of the past as there will be many good teams in the East as opposed to years past. Below are my Eastern Conference predictions and why I could see, but don’t predict, the Pistons to miss the playoffs.

1.     Milwaukee Bucks

I mean this is too easy right? Giannis is the MVP and he cannot be stopped in the paint posting numbers not seen since prime Shaquille O’Neal. Adding Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez for cheap were nice pickups as Eric Bledsoe and Middleton got paid this offseason. As long as Giannis is healthy, these Bucks are in contention for the Eastern conference title.

2.     Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia had another crazy offseason as this is their last year with max cap space for a very long time. The Sixers have the best starting five in the league, but their bench is quite poor. Josh Richardson was probably the most underrated pick up as he’s one of the best players for the salary he’s on. With everyone in their starting lineup over 6-foot-6, opposing defenders will be rendered useless at times with a guaranteed mismatch at all times.

3.     Boston Celtics

Who would have thought that getting rid of a perennial All-Star in Irving would be a good thing. Adding Walker to the Celtics is a quality pick up and it frees up more shots and offense for Tatum. Enes Kanter is a budget replacement for Al Horford’s mammoth deal in Philly, and they should be an all-around better team. The Celtics depth will help them in the long run, watch out for another parade in Boston this season.

4.     Miami Heat

This position is really as simple as Butler. He’s finally got his own team and he’s got Meyers Leonard in the gym at 3:30 a.m. as of now and is completely changing the culture of the Heat. The Heat are similar to the Clippers of last season where they are a solid team with a bunch of role players and are a star away from contending for the top half of the playoffs.

5.     Brooklyn Nets

The Nets had the best offseason in many people’s minds as they got the best player in the league in Durant. Obviously, his Achilles is the only reason the Nets aren’t already booking their rooms for the Finals matchup. The Nets had a solid group of players last year and adding Irving in place of D’Angelo Russell will be a nice upgrade.

6.     Toronto Raptors

The defending champs being this low normally would be crazy but losing the best two-way player in the league and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is going to hurt. Pistons fans love to bring up that they were 3-0 against the Raptors and replacing Leonard with Johnson is more fuel to the fire. There are a lot of aging players and expiring contracts on the Raptors, anyone not named Siakam or Fred VanVleet could be on the trading block as a first-round win is likely the ceiling for this team.

7.     Indiana Pacers

I absolutely love the Pacers roster and what they have going on. They would be much higher on my rankings but Oladipo’s injury and lack of a return timetable is going to be hard on Indiana. Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb, TJ Warren, Domontas Sabonis, and Myles Turner is a good lineup as is even without All-Star Oladipo. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Pacers higher if Oladipo plays before the New Year.

8.     Orlando Magic

The Magic are a team with many freakishly long and athletic wings who are impossible to breakdown at times. Gordon and Vucevic look to improve on their good seasons and wings Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross want to justify their large salaries by scoring in bunches. Future ESPN 30-for-30 star, Fultz is a wildcard for this team along with Mohamed Bamba who looks to have a healthy sophomore season.

9.     Detroit Pistons

Huge disclaimer, this isn’t where I think the Pistons will finish but it’s a definite possibility as I’ve explained above. I’m implying at least one of the bad things I talked about above will happen and hold the Pistons just inside the lottery.

10.  Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are a really young team led by Young who could finish between sixth to 14th in the East. They have a few studs in their young core including Collins who was a steal in the draft coming out of Wake Forest. I think the Hawks are a year out from the playoffs, but they are going to be a force in the future.

11.  Chicago Bulls

The Bulls are another team that could finish anywhere from the six seed to the fourteenth. Zach LaVine and the rest of the Bulls look to improve from last season. Tomas Satoransky, Thaddeus Young, and draftees Daniel Gafford and Coby White are all solid, under the radar acquisitions that are solid role pieces.

12.  New York Knicks

I go to school in New York and the reaction of my friends were just as funny as the rest of the Knicks fans on social media. Julius Randle and the rest of the signees are all great additions and the Knicks have a good thing going. Obviously, these guys aren’t Durant, Irving, or one of the other top free agents but the Knicks young core led by the Maple Mamba, RJ Barrett could surprise people this season.

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13.  Cleveland Cavaliers

Michigan basketball’s great coach John Beilein left for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. He took the job before the Cavs got screwed in the lottery, falling to the fifth pick. The young backcourt duo of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland will be exciting to watch and should have the Cavs in a better position this season compared to last.

14.  Washington Wizards

This position is inferring that the Wizards will deal Bradley Beal since he will not sign his 3-year, $111 million-dollar contract extension. Ish Smith, Troy Brown Jr., C.J. Miles, Rui Hachimura, and Thomas Bryant don’t move the needle and is barely better than the Hornets. What keeps the Wizards above the Hornets is the assumed good return for Beal.

15.  Charlotte Hornets

I know in this recent era of tanking we’ve seen some truly bad teams, especially in the East, but this team could take the cake. I love trying to play devil’s advocate however there’s nothing that shows me to think that they won’t bet out of the basement. The Hornets led by the greatest player of all time, but the worst GM of all time decided to let their best player walk this summer and overpay a player who at his ceiling is a mediocre value of Kemba.

When you look at it, there’s only three teams I think that have zero chance to make the playoffs, Cleveland, Charlotte, and the Beal-less Wizards. Other than that, the Pistons are in the middle of a solid group of nine or ten teams fighting for eight spots.

Personally I’d predict the Pistons to be the 4-7 seed but I wanted to write this article to pump the breaks on all of this “contending in the East talk.”