It’s safe to say the Detroit Pistons had an exciting offseason, thanks to Troy Weaver’s continued brilliance as a GM.
Following a little bit of a let down in the lottery, the Pistons stood pat at number five selecting Jaden Ivey, an uber-athletic and talented backcourt mate for Cade Cunningham. On the same night, Weaver also made an unexpected move for Jalen Duren, barely giving up anything in return.
To cap it all off, the Pistons borderline stole Bojan Bogdanovic from the Jazz for next to nothing, addressing a lack of shooting in the starting lineup.
As all the hype continues to build, Pistons’ fans enter this season with some real expectations. It would not be shocking if the Pistons are in the mix most of year and right there for the play-in come spring.
For the past couple of years, we were content with the Pistons losing games, but looking good while doing it. That’s the beauty of a rebuild. We can talk about the excitement of the future, while overlooking the win-loss column of the present.
This is the year that the Detroit Pistons turn the corner. They may be a year (or two) away from being a real “team” in the Eastern Conference race, but this season the Pistons need to show some real traction resulting in wins.
Beginning on October 19th, Detroit plays 8 games this month, followed by 15 in November. For a young team, the first two months will be crucial to not fall too far back in the standings.
This will be easier said than done as the Pistons have a front-loaded schedule due to the NBA’s tendency to attempt to keep the end of the regular season as relevant as possible.
The October/November stretch of games does include a back-to-back of the Bucks and Warriors, but there are many winnable games here.
The following three games will define October and likely define the Pistons aspirations the rest of the season.
Detroit Pistons schedule: 3 games that will define first month
October 19 – vs. Orlando Magic
The season opener offers a juicy match-up between the last two number one picks: Cade Cunningham and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero. These two are relatively familiar with each other being on the AAU circuit just a year apart. Cunningham even voiced his respect for Paolo’s game a few months before the NBA draft.
Both the Magic and Pistons also possess two of more underrated young guys in the whole league in Saddiq Bey and Franz Wagner. Numbers-wise, both Bey and Wagner deserve to be near the top of any under-25 list out there. Also of note, Saddiq Bey scored his career-high 51 on the Magic last season.
Aside from these similarities in personnel, Detroit and Orlando are in almost the same places in their rebuilds. Both have drafted in the top five of the last two drafts, both franchises have their centerpieces in place, and both are anchored by young backcourts. This match-up will be a great barometer to see who might hold the edge to begin this season.
Just like a team later on this list, the Detroit Pistons will likely become very familiar with this Magic team. If the Pistons and Magic continue on their current trajectories, there will be a point of intersection in the playoffs in the near future.
October 28 vs. Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks will be coming to Detroit expecting to play just any old Pistons team, but on October 28 that will not be the case. The Detroit Pistons will be wearing teal – and Little Caesar’s Arena is going to be electric.
I joke, but this will the first real NBA “event” game some of the young Pistons have played in. Detroit is going to be rowdy and the Pistons will need to feed off of that energy.
The Hawks bring in their new and improved backcourt, featuring Trae Young and new addition Dejounte Murray. These two All-Star guards play with all the confidence in the world and will be a real challenge for Cunningham and Ivey.
If Cunningham can own this match-up and Ivey can provide some real successful minutes, the Pistons can steal this game from the Hawks, who look to be in the middle of the playoff race in the East.
Depending on how things shake out, this is a potential play-in opponent for the Pistons. Atlanta won two games in the play-in last season to make the first round of the playoffs.
November 4 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
The new look Cavaliers supercharged their rebuild by trading for Donovan Mitchell. Pairing Mitchell with 22-year old Darius Garland, they now have an All-Star backcourt with two players in their prime.
Similar to the clash with the Hawks, the young Pistons backcourt will be under fire in this one.
But the real headliner here is Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham on the court to kick off year two. The debate will probably continue through their whole careers, which is not a problem. The 2021 Draft could go down as one of the best ever and no matter how Mobley and Cade end up, the Pistons and Cavs made the right selection for them at that time. Now let’s just sit back and enjoy two of the best young players the league has to offer.
In the interior, Jarret Allen, along with Mobley, will be a real test for the Pistons’ bigs. We have yet to see what approach Dwane Casey will take with Isaiah Stewart, Marvin Bagley, and Jalen Duren, but the combination of the three will have their hands full with the Cavs.
Similar to the other two teams mentioned, the Pistons and Cavs could reignite their rivalry in the coming years should they continue on their current path.
These three games won’t make or break the season, but they will be an early indication of how things are coming along in Detroit.