Should Detroit Pistons goal next year be NBA Play-in tournament?

The NBA’s Play-in tournament has been renewed for the 2021-22 season. Will qualifying for it be the main goal of what should be a much improved  Detroit Pistons squad.

After being considered an experiment the last two seasons, the NBA office and the players association have agreed the Play-in tournament will continue next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

A vote by the league’s Board of Governors at its August meeting, considered a formality, will make it official.

Should Detroit Pistons be Playoffs or Bust next year?

Assuming the same format as this year is used, each conference’s 7th thru 10th best records will play each other, with two team coming out of it as either the No. 7 or No. 8 seeds in their conference playoffs.

The Detroit Pistons should be an improved team next season. Normal development of young players will be a part of it, and getting a guy from Oklahoma State who does not stink, is also a reason to be better.

Last year, the Pistons had a record of 20-52, which left them 15th (better known as dead last) in the Eastern Conference. To make the Play-in tournament, Detroit would have to pass five teams in the standings.

In 2021, the Charlotte Hornets had the 10th best record in the East at 33-39 in a 72-game schedule. Assuming the NBA goes back to 82 games next year, that means the Pistons would have to go around 37-45 to match the Hornets record.

Again, extrapolating to an 82-game schedule, the Pistons would have to win 15 more games than last year to get the 10th spot in the conference if the standings are similar to last year.

That would be a huge improvement in the space of a year. And, remember, Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has said he is not looking for much roster turnover (with one Major exception). So the big jump would be mostly with the same players who only won 20 games last year.

The short answer: Absolutely

Pedal to the metal, Pistons can be in Play-in

First, Detroit was not that bad last season. Based on its offensive and defensive ratings, Basketball-reference.com estimates the Pistons should have went 26-46, so that is six more wins right there.

Also, the Pistons lost a lot of close games last year, I mean a ton. Most of that was due to  players inexperience and not knowing how to close out games. Early in the season, Detroit also lost some games because stars Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose each got off to a slow starts.

Finally, the last 15 games, Detroit, well, did not try that hard to win. Coach Dwane Casey used almost all young players, including a recovering from injury Killian Hayes and Jahlil Okafor.

If Detroit had some luck early in the season, and if had put out its best lineup at the end, they  could have gone 28-42. So, the Pistons only need seven or eight more wins to get in the play-in.

Can Cade Cunningham be worth 7-8 more wins for the Pistons by himself. Yes, if he is as good as advertised.

The bigger question then is, should the Pistons want to make the Play-in, or just concentrate on development and not worry about its record?

Another year of tanking for Detroit Pistons?

Even the most passionate fans do not think the Detroit Pistons will be making a run at the NBA title next year. The Play-in tournament is probably the most realistic goal for the team.

But, if Detroit is not going far next year, why not just have another lousy record, and have a good shot another high draft pick next year. The argument is, in the long run, the team would be better off with another high draft pick.

The other side of the argument is, the NBA post-season is far different than the regular season (both No. 1 seeds this year did not even make their conference finals). These young players need exposure to a playoff atmosphere so they will be ready when the Pistons are ready to make a run at the title.

And more losing begats a losing atmosphere, and the Pistons culture is very important to Weaver and Casey.

The Play-in tournament injected some interest to teams that might have been playing out the string otherwise, but the survivors all got knocked out, pretty quickly, in the main draw of the playoffs.

Would even two games in the Play-in tournament be valuable for the Pistons young core? Well, it would be two more games in a win-or-go-home atmosphere than they have now.

Zion Williamson was hailed even more than Cade Cunningham coming out of college as a No. 1 pick, and in two years his Pelicans team has not even made the play-in. So do not assume Cunningham’s presence suddenly turns everything around and coming in 10th is a given.

But, for a fan base that has waited 12 years for a playoff victory, making the Play-in would not be an end all or be all, but it would be nice.