Detroit Pistons: 3 biggest strengths of the Pistons roster

The Detroit Pistons’ restoration process is still ongoing, so they have a talented but young roster that is probably not ready to compete for a playoff spot just yet.

The Pistons are heavy underdogs to make the playoffs, which makes sense when the best player on your team is a 19-year-old who hasn’t yet played a game in the NBA.

Cade Cunningham is going to be a star, but it won’t happen overnight, nor will the Pistons magically morph from a 20-win team into contender in one offseason.

But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty to build around and the Detroit Pistons do have some specific strengths that will help speed up the process.

Detroit Pistons: Blocked shots are a strength

One of the narratives this offseason has been that the Detroit Pistons needed a rim protector. Fans tend to focus on the center position when it comes to blocked shots, and the Pistons had a guy in Mason Plumlee who wasn’t getting many of them.

But the Pistons were 8th in the NBA as a team in blocked shots last season, led by Isaiah Stewart, who will have an expanded role next season and should get even more of them.

Jerami Grant, Josh Jackson and Hamidou Diallo will chip in blocked shots from the wing and hopefully a full season of Killian Hayes and Cade Cunningham will increase the Pistons block totals as well.

Blocks are important not only because they stop the opponent from scoring but also because they start fast breaks.

The Detroit Pistons are a team that struggled to score in the half court last season, so anything that can lead to an easy bucket is something they should lean into.

While it’s true the Pistons don’t have a prolific shot blocker, they do have a lot of guys who can potentially get swats and they should be in the top-10 in that category again next season.