Injuries and the roller coast ride the Detroit Pistons have taken, the big picture is lost. The Pistons are in a good spot despite all they’ve been through.
The Detroit Pistons have had an impressive start to the season given all preseason expectations were shattered when Blake Griffin was announced out into November.
Reggie Jackson‘s latest bombshell makes (at least) the next four weeks a larger challenge. But through the first two, largely without either starter, the Pistons have treaded water to a 3-4 start, which lands them in the playoffs as the eighth-seeded team in the East if the season ended Sunday.
That in and of itself is impressive. But so is sweeping an Indiana Pacers team that knew it would be without Victor Oladipo but also had Jeremy Lamb out for one of those games. The third win was an impressive one over the Brooklyn Nets, with both teams traveling for the second game of a back-to-back. Brooklyn’s depth should have won out given the Pistons injuries, but Detroit powered through.
Andre Drummond became the second Pistons player with three straight 20-point, 20-rebound performances, joining Bob Lanier. He’s the third player to accomplish in the past 25 years, joining Kevin Love and DeMarcus Cousins.
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He’s had to be the guy. He’s on an incredible early-season pace, averaging 22.1 points, 18.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. That would be an All-NBA pace and, possibly, a MVP-caliber pace should he continue when Griffin returns.
The 26-year-old is tied for seventh in win shares with 1.1. He is 21st in Player Efficiency Rating with an astronomical 28.4 rating. Right behind him is teammate Derrick Rose who has a 28.3 rating.
Now the Pistons had a pair of clunkers against the Atlanta Hawks, losing by 17, and the Toronto Raptors, losing 125-113. There was the disappointing 112-106 loss to the Bulls. It was, perhaps, an encouraging 117-111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, though Joel Embiid was out.
Griffin has been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards, as has Rose and Jackson. Griffin appears to be getting closer to a return, working out before the previous two games during shootaround and pregame. If he sits out for the rest of this week, it sets up nicely for the Pistons to have a winning week.
Monday night the Pistons host Washington (1-4). Detroit will return home and host the New York Knicks (1-6) on Wednesday before traveling to Indiana (3-3), which the Pistons have beaten 119-110 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in the season opener and 96-94 in Detroit.
If the Pistons can continue to tread water and come out of the week winning two of the three game, they’d sit at .500, potentially without having their All-NBA forward.
It has helped that Rose is on an incredible pace, averaging 20.8 points and 6.3 assists per game through six games. Both of those totals are higher than any season after he tore his Anterior Cruciate ligament in 2012.
Luke Kennard has upped his productivity, scoring 16.4 points per game and dishing 3.7 assists per game – both on pace to be career-highs – and he’s setting new shooting marks at 44.6% from the field and 43.5% from 3-point range.
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Detroit’s defensive deficiencies are unquestionable. They’re allowing 112 points per game, which is 20th in the NBA.
While Markieff Morris and Drummond are fine defensively, Christian Wood and Thon Maker haven’t stepped up to the challenge. The duo initially fought for minutes and now both are playing rotations together. Wood’s offensive upside should keep him in the rotation when Griffin returns, whose experience, even as an average defender at best, is missed.
But the Pistons have scored the second-most points in the NBA. Though they are 18th overall, scoring 108.3 points per game.
A slower pace and lack of ball security have caused the Pistons issues. Of course, 17 turnovers per game can be, in part, attributed to the two primary ball-handlers t be out of the lineup. It increases the workload of Rose, Drummond and other players who are growing accustomed to a larger role.
All-in-all, the Pistons are in a good spot. With one of the youngest rosters in the NBA (an average age of 25.6), the valuable early-season experiences should pay off and create depth that wouldn’t be there if the roster was fully healthy.
This week will be critical for the Pistons, who have weathered the storm admirably through the first two weeks.