The Detroit Pistons tip off their training camp today and excitement around the team couldn’t be higher.
Media day was “boring” by the standards of some teams, but the Pistons still managed some interesting moments and great quotes.
Fans realize that these young Pistons are probably not contenders just yet, but the building blocks are there and if they can take the next logical step on their timeline, we’ll be very happy.
Saying the Pistons will be moderately better than last year’s 20-win campaign is hardly a “bold” prediction, so I’m going to go a little further out on the limb for this one.
The reason these are “bold” predictions is that they are less likely to happen, so all of these probably need a disclaimer that these are under optimum circumstances where almost everything bounces right for Detroit.
Without further ado, let’s get into some predictions for the Detroit Pistons in the 2021-22 season.
Detroit Pistons: Season prediction #1- The Pistons will make the play-in tournament
This might not be “bold” by some people’s standards, as I know there are a lot of people who think the Pistons will make the playoffs, including Jerami Grant, who said his expectation is precisely that.
But I think it’s slightly unrealistic that a 20-win team make the playoffs outright, which would include being in the top-6 in a suddenly loaded Eastern Conference.
But they only need to be in the top-10 to make the play-in tournament, which seems far more realistic, especially when you consider the Pistons have added Cade Cunningham and Kelly Olynyk to a team that lost a lot of close games last season.
The Pistons lost 32 games by 10 or fewer points last season, with most of their blowout losses coming later in the season when Jerami Grant was hurt and the Pistons were actively tanking.
If they can turn even 10 of those close losses into wins, they will be within shouting distance of the play-in game. It’s not a disaster if the Pistons don’t make this leap but I think people are sleeping on the possibility that they might.