The Detroit Pistons have not gotten off to a good start on the NBA season. Does this mean they are doomed, and have no chance at the playoffs. Not necessarily. History shows there have been other teams who rallied and done well.
In the perfect world, it would be great if the Pistons had begun the NBA season with a string of victories, and built up some confidence as they developed their young core. But things do not always work out the way you want, and teams and fans must adjust.
Is Detroit burying itself into a hole in the standings? Yes. Can they get out of the hole and contend for a spot in the Play-in tournament. Yes, as well.
History shows there are plenty of NBA teams that did not get off to a good start, and ended up doing really well.
Here are a couple of examples, courtesy of Hardwood Houdini:
2004-05 Detroit Pistons
Everyone knows the Pistons won the NBA championship in 2004, topping the Shaq-and-Kobe Los Angeles Lakers in the finals. What most people have probably forgotten is, they were not that good to start the following season.
Following a close loss at San Antonio, Detroit held just a 7-8 record. The ‘Malice at the Palace’ (which occurred in Game 8) did not apparently fire up the team. Things were not going well.
But, then they did look good. Very good, eventually.
Sitting at 10-10, Detroit then went 44-18 the rest of the season, including winning 11 of their last 12 games. The Pistons would knock off the Shaq-Wade Miami Heat in the East finals to reach the NBA finals once again.
The Pistons fell to San Antonia in seven games (we still hate Robert Horry!), which was a bit disappointing, but a lot better than being 7-8.
2005-06 Miami Heat
The Pistons might have made a third straight trip to the NBA finals if Miami had just kept Stan Van Gundy as coach that season.
The Heat stumbled out of the block, going 2-3 to start the year. They went on a four-game losing streak and were 10-10 at one point. That Shaquille O’Neal missed most of those games with an injury did not help but, still, a pretty bad start for a championship contender.
Shortly after the four-game losing streak, Van Gundy resigned for ‘personal and family reasons’. Pat Riley came down to coach from the executive offices. The Heat turned things around and beat Detroit, 4-2, in the Eastern finals, on the way to a championship.
Van Gundy would eventually coach the Pistons, where he also went about .500 and had lots of four-game losing streaks.
2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks
The Atlanta Hawks had a losing record last year until they made a coaching change, and ended up in the Eastern finals. But, since there is almost zero chance Dwane Casey is being replaced, the more relevant team is the one who beat them in the playoffs: the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee had flamed out in the Orlando bubble the year before against Miami, and they did not look much better at the start of this past season. Giannis & Co. were 2-3 at the beginning and just 11-8 (8-8 not counting games against Detroit) a quarter into the season.
Coach Mike Budenholzer looked like toast at that point.
But things turned around, Milwaukee went 35-18 the rest of the season. In the playoffs, Kevin Durant’s shot in Game 7 was six inches inside the three-point line, Chris Paul was hurt in the finals and the Bucks became NBA champs for the first time in 50 years.
For perspective, you can also throw in the 1976-77 Seattle SuperSonics, who started off 5-17 and made the NBA finals.
A poor start does not end a team’s post-season chances are gone, as we have seen many times in the past. So, if Detroit is at the bottom of the standings at the moment, remember, all hope is not lost.