Detroit Pistons: Patience is key for Pistons’ fans

The sun will come up tomorrow for the Pistons

The final points I have are positive. Most prediction websites have the Pistons winning under 30 games again this season, with their win total set around 25 games, meaning a 25-57 record could be in the cards.

That record might make you do a double take, and think something is up. With the Pistons adding Cade Cunningham, Kelly Olynyk, and the rest of the young core getting another season of training and development, how are the Pistons going to have a worse or similar record to last year?

The reason for that is how much better the rest of the Eastern Conference has gotten, by no means a shot at general manager Troy Weaver, but other teams have gone all in and traded away picks to get more competitive, like the Chicago Bulls for example, the Pistons Opening Night opponent.

Outside of the Magic, Cavaliers and maybe the Raptors, the Pistons have a lesser roster than the other 11-12 teams in the East, hence the low win total. The positives out of this would be that,  with having such a young roster, that’s championship window is still 3-5 years out anyhow.

That means most of these powerhouses in the East will be old, crumbling, and likely shadows of themselves when detroit is on the ascension. As we’ve seen with some of the NBA’s best players in Jordan and LeBron, there is usually a few learning seasons and even losing seasons, before long term success.

While I’m not (yet hopefully) comparing Cade Cunningham to Jordan and LeBron, the comparison is to show that even the two best players in history have faced adversity early on.

Overall, I think the Pistons will exceed the 25-win total number the oddsmaker have set, and, while not being a great team, like the team over at Ford Field, they will be competitive.

Last year, despite being 20-52, the Pistons were a great team to watch, as they beat many great teams including the Lakers, Celtics (twice), Heat, Suns, 76ers, Nets, and Hawks, making up nine of their twenty wins.

Adding on to last year, it was clear the Pistons were tanking, with some obvious moments of losing intentionally, most particularly against the Nets, when the Pistons had the ball down two points, with 3.3 seconds left and drew up a Cory Joseph isolation, with Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey on the court. (Shock, it did not work).

All of this together makes me really think that this team will be better than the experts in Vegas think, but not making the playoffs like a few of the most confident fans believe.