The Detroit Pistons are currently 7-20, which is the 3rd-worst record in the NBA.
If the season were to end now, they would have maximum 14 percent odds for the number one pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and the chance to draft generational prospect Victor Wembanyama.
It’s what all bad teams dream about, as the only real payoff to being at the bottom of the league is the chance to potentially draft a guy who will help turn the franchise around. The Pistons already lucked out once with Cade Cunningham, and if they aren’t going to being competing for a playoff spot, even the minuscule chance to get Wembanyama may be their best hope for a quick turnaround.
A horrible start coupled with the injury to Cunningham increased the chances of the Detroit Pistons ending up in the bottom three, and it seemed like the tank might be on once again, much to the chagrin of those of us who were hoping they were going to be competitive.
But some things have been coming around of late, and it now looks possible, if not likely, that the Pistons may not be in the running for Wembanyama after all.
Detroit Pistons schedule: The worst is behind us
The Pistons schedule so far this season has been ridiculous and is one of the main reasons they are where they are in the standings. The Pistons have played the most games of any team in the NBA. They are currently tied for the most road games in the league and have played seven back-to-backs in 27 games.
Even without all of the injury problems this was going to be tough, as this is a young team that had a lot of new parts that we knew were going to take some time to gel. The league didn’t afford Detroit that time and instead piled a tough, front loaded schedule onto them.
But most of that is behind us now, and the Detroit Pistons currently have the 29th most-difficult remaining schedule in the league. That can change obviously, as some of these teams will improve and some will regress, but it’s safe to say that the brutal part of the schedule is over and that the Pistons will have a chance to pile up some wins.
Detroit still has three games left against Orlando, two against San Antonio, four against Charlotte and two against Houston, who figure to be teams at or near the bottom of their respective conferences.
And most these teams, unlike Detroit, have fully committed to tanking, as the Magic are 1-9 over their last 10 games, the Spurs have lost 11 in a row, the Hornets have lost three in a row. Only Detroit (4-6) and Houston (5-5) seem to be trying to win games at this point among the league’s worst teams.
Barring more injuries, this schedule could allow the Detroit Pistons to climb out of the cellar and finish the season outside of the bottom three or four. I don’t think anyone believes Detroit is going to make the playoffs, but climbing up a few spots in the standings would significantly reduce their already-small odds for the number one pick.
Detroit Pistons: Life without Cade Cunningham
Cade Cunningham has now missed 15 games and the Detroit Pistons have gone 4-11 without him, but there are signs that they are learning to win without their best player.
The Pistons are 4-6 over their last 10 games and have beaten some good teams, with wins over Denver, Utah, Dallas and Miami in that stretch. They barely lost last night to the red-hot Pelicans even though they were on the second game of a back-to-back on the road.
Detroit is shooting 47.9 percent as a team over the last 10 games, a marked improvement from the rest of the season when they were the worst in the NBA. They are shooting 38.8 percent from long range, a HUGE improvement that has them up to 18th in the league overall after being at or near the bottom for most of the season.
The Pistons are now 24th overall in scoring, which is still terrible, but much better than where they were. The hot shooting of Bojan Bogdanovic, coupled with the return of Alec Burks and Marvin Bagley III and the improvement from Killian Hayes has helped, and Detroit’s offense suddenly looks incredibly average after being god-awful for most of the season.
The idea that the Pistons would just fold without Cade Cunningham has passed and these guys are starting to play better even though he is in street clothes. If they keep this up, it is very unlikely that they finish in the bottom 3-4 teams and could even overtake the Lakers or Bulls at some point.
Detroit Pistons: Could Cade Cunningham return this season?
We still haven’t gotten a recent update on Cade Cunningham’s injury, likely because there isn’t much to update. He either rests and comes back at some point or has surgery and misses the rest of the season.
But there are growing signs that Cunningham is not going to choose surgery, as he and the team seem to be choosing patience to see if rest is all he needs to get back on the floor.
Cunningham was also spotted getting shots up before the game against Miami, so it’s possible this is a promising sign that rest will be all that is needed for him to return.
We know Cunningham is a fierce competitor who is not going to want to miss nearly an entire season, so if he can get back out there without long-term risk, I think he will.
This could be a huge X-Factor for the Pistons, as many of the other pieces are starting to fall into place and players are looking more comfortable in their roles. Insert their best player back into this and it could be enough to get Detroit a string of wins down the stretch, as five of their last seven games this season are against teams that are currently bad.
These factors make it more likely that Detroit does not finish in the bottom three this season, as there are worse teams that also have injury problems and don’t seem to be too worried about losing.
It’s going to take a huge amount of luck to land the number one pick again anyway, so it’s not like the Pistons are giving up on a sure thing, but each spot they move up reduces those chances even more.