The exciting and the scary lurking in the Detroit Pistons’ future
The Detroit Pistons are off to a 3-9 start after getting blown out by the Boston Celtics on the road for their sixth straight loss away from home.
It was a fairly ugly night for Detroit, who saw Cade Cunningham have his worst game of the season and the team shoot just 21 percent from 3-point range as a whole.
It was a painful reminder that the Pistons may have a bright future, but here in the present, they are still far away from being one of the elite teams of the Eastern Conference.
Pistons fans are surviving on muscle, guts and hope as we wait for the future we’ve been sold for the last few seasons to arrive, but the good news is that it will eventually get here, and as hard as it is to stomach at the moment, time and patience will be required.
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There are plenty of good things coming for the Detroit Pistons, both in the short and long term, but there are also some scary things lurking in their future that should have fans concerned for this season and beyond.
Let’s start with the good things that are hopefully coming in the near future.
Detroit Pistons: Some short term hope
Getting some players back
Right now the Detroit Pistons have the worst bench in the league and it’s not really close. They don’t have a single consistent scoring threat coming off the bench, which is killing them in each and every game.
Alec Burks and Marvin Bagley III were both upgraded and it looks like Burks make return on Friday against the Knicks. While I don’t think these two players are going to turn the Pistons into contenders, they will stabilize the bench unit and give coach Dwane Casey some more rotation options.
The Pistons’ starters are currently one of the highest-scoring five-man groups in the NBA, so having a bench that isn’t a disaster could net them a few more wins.
Help is on the way!
Some life from Killian Hayes?
It’s only one game, but when you’ve been as bad as Killian Hayes has been this season, even one good game is a good sign. Hayes looked a little more confident on both ends last night against the Celtics and had his best offensive game of the season.
Hayes had 16 points in 22 minutes, broke down defenders off the dribble, pulled up for mid-range jumpers, got the rim, and even hit a 3-point shot:
https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/1590536490664067073
It’s only ONE GAME, so obviously Killian has to do this more consistently, but hopefully coach Casey’s faith in Hayes is starting to pay off. With two bench weapons returning soon, there is still plenty of time for Killian Hayes to turn his season around and I really hope he does.
The current state of the Eastern Conference
As bad as the Pistons have been, they are only 2.5 games behind the Pacers for the final play-in spot. I am not saying that because I think Detroit is going to get there, but to ask a question: Are we sure the Eastern Conference is good?
There are currently only five teams with winning records and to be honest, there isn’t much separating teams 6-14 in terms of wins and losses or talent. The Pistons aren’t lagging that far behind, and who knows, once they are whole they could make a run at that 10th spot, especially if teams like Miami, Brooklyn and Philly don’t turn things around.
So you’re telling me there’s a chance? (one in a million is still a chance, no?)