Detroit Pistons: 4 promising signs from the first day of training camp

The Detroit Pistons have completed their first day of training camp and the excitement around the team is palpable.

We already got some iconic (and funny) photos from media day but yesterday the young Detroit Pistons got to work on improving from last year’s 20-win season.

With the first day of training camp in the books, here are some promising signs from Day 1, all of which will be things to watch as camp progresses into preseason.

Detroit Pistons: Frank Jackson’s mustache

Ok, let’s start with something stupid, yet amazing: Frank Jackson’s mustache.

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/1442987491888295938

Just look at that beauty. I’m going to date myself with this reference but kindly Google “Ozone, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” for historical reference to how great this ‘stache is. You don’t come into camp with that thing over your lip unless you are ready to dominate.

Ok, now onto the real stuff.

Detroit Pistons: The focus is on defense

One of the quotes from media day that stuck with me was Isaiah Stewart saying that the Pistons’ success all starts with the defense.

Dwane Casey agrees, which is why that was the focus in the first day of practice and probably all through training camp:

The Detroit Pistons were 10th in points allowed last season, so defense is something they should be building around. When you see that the top-11 teams in defensive rating all made the playoffs last season, it shows that defense matters even more in this offensive era.

The Pistons have clearly made it a focus with how they have constructed their roster, as well as some of the coaches they are bringing in to help with practice.

Detroit Pistons: Juwan Howard and Ben Wallace mentoring the bigs

Another promising sign from the first day of practice is that the Detroit Pistons brought in two local legends to mentor their big men.

Hall of Famer Ben Wallace has plenty to teach guys like Isaiah Stewart about post defense, as does Juwan Howard, former member of the Fab Five and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.

I like when teams do this, as young players will listen to these two, who have resumes that demand respect.

The focus for the bigs was specifically post defense, something these two know plenty about. This will be an area of concern for the Pistons, as Kelly Olynyk is not much of an interior defender, which leaves only Beef Stew and rookie Luka Garza as the stoppers inside.

I think it is a promising sign that the young bigs are getting one-on-one mentoring from players who had similar games and have plenty of advice to offer about defending the paint.

Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes is working with John Beilein

John Beilien is another guy who was specifically hired because of his body of work developing young players.

He is currently the Senior Player Development Advisor for the Detroit Pistons and has so far spent a lot of time with second-year point guard Killian Hayes.

Regardless of what you think of his time as a head coach in Cleveland, Beilein is a guy who has a long history of getting the most out of young players, especially when it comes to shooting.

Hayes has all of the athletic ability to be a star in the NBA, but so far his shot has lagged behind his defense and passing, which is something he’ll be working on as the season goes on.

I expect him to get a lot of one-on-one instruction from Beilein, who can hopefully work on his flaws and build Killian’s confidence in his shot.

The Detroit Pistons have assembled an amazing staff of basketball minds and brought in some high profile mentors who will hopefully help their young players get the most out of training camp before the regular season starts.