It is my opinion that for the first time in several years, the NBA Eastern and Western conferences are fairly balanced. Each has between three and five real title contenders, some wildcards, and a bunch of middling and bottom teams. The Detroit Pistons are still in the latter category, although they are certainly on the rise.
Despite the dominance of players like Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league is still mostly run by the backcourt. Golden State, Phoenix, Memphis, Miami, Boston, and Dallas are all examples of teams that were carried by talented guards and wings.
Cade Cunningham is one of the most hyped and talented young guards in the league, and Killian Hayes and Jaden Ivey both have a lot of promise. Ivey is yet to prove himself, and at this point, Hayes has been rather lackluster, although sparkles of brilliance are there. Compared to more complete and dominant backcourts in the conference, where do the Pistons rank?
Here is a ranking of the backcourts of the East.
Detroit Pistons: Eastern Conference backcourt rankings
#15: Orlando Magic
Assuming that the Magic stick with their backcourt of Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony, the team could be really good in the near future. Paolo Banchero is the real deal, and the Magic have plenty of young bigs to create a competitive roster soon.
Anthony is a decent scorer and good defender, and Suggs is yet to turn a corner and become an efficient offensive weapon, but with a combined two seasons between the two (Suggs and Anthony were both injured for half of their rookie campaigns), there is a lot of promise. They just haven’t put it together yet, but keep an eye out for them.