Should the Detroit Pistons start to rebuild? The next ten games will tell
The Schedule and what it could mean
Detroit has played the most games of any NBA team, with three home/road back-to backs and has done so with a depleted roster, so it would be unfair to write the team off this early. But this is supposed to be the easy part of the schedule and the Pistons have already lost games to teams like the Wizards and Bulls and have faced none of the powerhouses from the West and only the 76ers from the East. It’s not going to get any easier, which is why Detroit should re-evaluate their position after the next ten games.
Detroit has 3 winnable games in a row against the Hornets, Bulls and Hawks before facing the Bucks, then Magic. The Pistons then have back to back games with the Hornets before playing the Spurs, Cavs and Bucks.
If we are looking at the best-case scenario, the Pistons could go 7-3 over next ten to be 11-11 and in a good spot. Being .500 a quarter of the way through the season would be amazing given their injuries and would probably put the Pistons right in the thick of the 5-8 seeds in the Eastern Conference.
More from PistonPowered
- Which Detroit Pistons could save Team USA in the Olympics?
- Detroit Pistons could have major roster churn after 2023-24 season
- The best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number
- Full Detroit Pistons NBA 2K24 ratings
- Detroit Pistons: Who will sign the remaining NBA free agents?
A more likely scenario is that the Pistons go 5-5, which puts them at 9-13 overall, not at the bottom of the East, but out of the playoffs and in a big hole to get into the middle seeds. The way things are going, 3-7 or worse is a distinct possibility, which puts Detroit at 7-15 at best, at which point blowing it up is definitely on the table.
These ten games are important not only because Detroit will be at the 25 percent mark of the season, but because they are playing many of the teams they must beat to stay competitive in the East. The Pistons have already lost games to the Bulls and Hawks, two teams currently ahead of them in the standings. The Hornets had a better start than many predicted but are still terrible, so Detroit cannot afford to lose even one of these three games against Charlotte.
If they come out of this stretch winning 3-4 games, there won’t be many easy ones left against the Eastern conference basement dwellers. Even though it will still be early, Detroit will have to consider all options if they falter over the next ten games.
The good news is that it is early. The Pistons still have time to salvage their season. The bad news is that even this early there have been enough troubling red flags to consider a complete tear down of the roster.
Next. Bruce Brown may have been playing the wrong position. dark
No NBA season has ever been decided in November, but the next ten games may decide how the Pistons view their future.