The Detroit Pistons’ schedule has been released and the sports books are already making their predictions about how many games the Pistons will win.
Detroit has the number one pick Cade Cunningham, who will certainly make them better, and they have also added free agents Kelly Olynyk and Trey Lyles to the mix.
Other than that, the Detroit Pistons will mostly have the same team after re-signing Frank Jackson, Saben Lee and Hamidou Diallo.
So will this translate to more wins? Let’s take a look at some of the reasons the Pistons will be better, some reasons they might be worse, and finally give a prediction of how many games they will win this season.
Why the Detroit Pistons will be better next season
The addition of a potential superstar in Cade Cunningham should be enough in and of itself to get the Pistons a few more wins than the 20 they logged last season.
Let’s also not forget that the Pistons were competitive in nearly all of their games last year, so as their young players get more reps, they will turn some of those close losses into wins.
Olynyk should help the development of Cunningham and Killian Hayes, and the Pistons can count on some amount of internal improvement from guys like Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Josh Jackson.
The Pistons have not changed dramatically, but they’ll be a little more experienced, hopefully better shooting the ball and should have more lineup versatility than they had last season.
Will this translate into more wins? Possibly, but I can also see a few scenarios where it doesn’t.
Detroit Pistons: Why the Pistons could be the same or worse next season
First off, I fully believe that the Detroit Pistons will be better next season, so I am really just playing Devil’s Advocate here.
The biggest reason the Pistons could stay at around 20 wins or even take a step back is that the rest of the Eastern Conference has gotten better.
Just like the Pistons, the other teams at the bottom of the standings have also added potential star players in the draft and there shouldn’t be a team that will enter the season trying to tank.
The ten teams that made the playoffs or play-in last season have all gotten better and teams like Charlotte, Chicago and Miami hope to make big leaps into the top half of the division.
The East has finally caught up to the West, so it is going to be difficult for a young team of mostly rookies and second-year guys to get wins.
Also, the Pistons were very lucky when it came to injuries last season, so an unfortunate injury to one of their key guys would be enough to potentially set them back.
So what are the sports books predicting for the Pistons’ win total? Will they eclipse it?
Detroit Pistons: Predicting win totals and playoffs
I took a look at variety of sports books to get an idea of what the sharps think of the Pistons’ chances to improve upon their 20 wins from last season.
The average over/under for wins is 25.5, so the books do believe the Pistons will improve.
But will they?
I took at look at their schedule and it has a brutal start and finish against all of the top teams in the East including multiple matchups with the Nets, Bucks and 76ers.
So I just looked at all of the games where the Pistons will be favored vs. games where they will be underdogs.
Doing this I cam up with 19 wins for the Detroit Pistons.
Now, obviously the Pistons will win some games they aren’t supposed to and lose some that they should win, but 25.5 seems about right.
If I were going to make a bet, I would probably take the under just because I am superstitious and don’t want to jinx the team, but I think the bet is pretty much a toss up.
As for making the playoffs? Wynnbet sets the odds of the Pistons making the playoffs at +1200 and the odds of them not making it at -5000 which means they are heavy underdogs.
If you are a complete homer and think the Pistons will make the playoffs, then you might as well pair that with a bet for the over, as it will take more than 25 games to get there.
Are the Detroit Pistons being underestimated? We’ll have to wait for the season to find out.