The domino effect caused by the Detroit Pistons playoff berth in 2019

The Detroit Pistons playoff appearance in the 2018-2019 season caused a larger domino effect than some may realize.

Heading into the 2018-2019 NBA season, there was a general sense of optimism within the fan base of the Detroit Pistons. The biggest source of that optimism lied within Blake Griffin, who had his first full offseason with the team under his belt.

In theory, the front court duo of he and Andre Drummond could pose a legitimate threat in the East. While no one was expecting them to run the table, fans at least thought that they could make some noise.

Until they became decimated by injury, as has become customary for the Pistons in recent years. Most notably, Ish Smith’s injury in December that stretched through January put a damper on Pistons fans hopes.

Despite this, Griffin became an All-Star and played arguably the best season he ever had averaging 24.5 points 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Additionally, he transcended his three-point making ability and landed a spot on the All-NBA Third Team.

As we approached the final stretch of the season, he had been sitting out a few games dealing with a lingering knee injury. This is when the fan base became split in two.

Either Detroit continues their playoff push and makes their first appearance since 2016, or they fall into the lottery. The idea was that even a one percent chance at landing the top pick and selecting Zion Williamson would be better than a first round sweep.

As it happened, the Pistons made the playoffs, and found themselves on the wrong end of a four game sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. This is where the dominoes began to fall.

Griffin had sat out the first two games on the road in Milwaukee, but fought it way back for the final two games in Detroit, where he gave every ounce of energy he could possibly give. We’ll circle back to this in a minute.

By making the playoffs, the Pistons locked up the 15th overall pick in the draft, where they eventually selected Sekou Doumbouya. It was viewed at the time as the steal of the draft, Detroit got the number one player on their draft board.

Had they missed out on the playoffs and fallen into the lottery, while unlikely they could have moved up. The entire order of the draft could have looked differently and different teams could have selected different players, and Sekou could have been taken earlier (as was projected).

So while it’s entirely true that Detroit could have also ended up taking a Tyler Herro or Cam Johnson, two players that played particularly well for their respective teams this season, the fact is that because things ended up shaking out the way that they did, the Pistons were able to select the player they wanted most.

Because of that, there’s an ever so dim light at the end of the tunnel.

As we headed into the 2019-2020 season it was clear from the jump that Griffin was still having trouble with the aforementioned knee injury he suffered before the playoffs began the year prior. He was having trouble elevating and even general movement seemed strenuous.

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This lead to inefficient and what seemed like forced play. Every night that he trotted out there, it was evident that it was the wrong decision. Inevitably, he wound up undergoing season ending surgery just a few months after the new campaign began.

This injury combined with Luke Kennard’s and Reggie Jackson’s sent the Pistons into a downward spiral, one that was worse than what they had showed to open the year. This opened the door to a potential Drummond trade as rumors began to surface in January.

Trading Drummond would in all likelihood mean that Detroit was buying into a total rebuild. Sure enough when the February 6th deadline arrived, the Pistons shipped Drummond to Cleveland.

This ensured that the team would have more money in free agency than they’ve had in recent years. It gave the fans more hope, but at the cost of watching a borderline cataclysmic product.

As the season progressed the Pistons were able to solidify their position in the upcoming lottery, having the fifth best odds to land the top overall pick in the draft, where many assume they’d select LaMelo Ball.

The Detroit Pistons made the playoffs a season ago, and it created a domino effect where they drafted a player in Sekou who they feel could be their prized possession within a few years. It worsened Griffin’s knee injury to a point where his absence sent Detroit into a spiral that they couldn’t get out of.

That same spiral caused the team to trade away Drummond, which in turn sent them into full on tank mode, which is where we find ourselves today.