Detroit Pistons: 5 bold preseason predictions revisited

Detroit Pistons: 5 bold preseason takes revisited

Bold prediction #2: Kelly Olynyk will be in the running for Most Improved Player

Much like the first prediction, this one was pretty much undone by injury, as Olynyk has missed most of the season and never had a chance to make an impact.

My logic was that he thrived on a young team (Houston) before joining the Detroit Pistons, and would have two very good pick-and-roll guards to work with.

I still don’t think this was a bad call, but Olynyk was unable to stay healthy, has only played in 21 games and is putting up some of the worst numbers of his career.

I hope I didn’t jinx him.

Bold prediction #3: Dwane Casey will finish in the top-5 for Coach of the Year

Ummmm, yikes.

This falls squarely into the “what was I thinking?!?” category of predictions.

Although I don’t think coach Casey has been nearly as bad as some fans would have you believe with their daily rants about “rotations!” no coach of a team this bad deserves consideration for anything other than being fired.

Casey was put into an impossible situation this season, as he was handed a very young team that suffered injuries to its only impact veterans, but was somehow expected to win more games than last season when the team had more NBA-ready talent.

I don’t think this season is Casey’s fault, and I do think we’ve seen proper development out of most of the young guys (except Killian), but he won’t be finishing in the top-5 of anything except probably the NBA Draft and lists of “Coaches most likely to be fired this offseason.”

I like Coach Casey and think he’s done an admirable job in a tough situation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is not the coach next season.