The Detroit Pistons have several big questions hanging over them as the offseason inches closer to training camp.
There are several positional battles that have to be settled, and Monty Williams has a lot of decisions to make about how he will deploy his rotation.
Even more questions presented themselves after the release of the Pistons’ schedule, which has a few quirks that will present challenges to the young team and their new coach.
Here’s what the Detroit Pistons are up against in the 2023-24 season.
Detroit Pistons’ Schedule: How will the back-to-backs affect Cade Cunningham?
The Pistons’ schedule includes 15 back-to-backs, most for any team in the NBA. Theoretically, this shouldn’t be a big issue for a team with so many young players who don’t have a ton of mileage on their legs.
But Cade Cunningham is returning from an injury, and though he looks healthy and ready to go, you have to wonder if the Pistons are going to be cautious with their franchise star, especially early in the season.
Playing with the Select Team that scrimmaged against Team USA should help (Cade was reportedly dominant) as Cunningham had a chance to get some competitive games in as a test for his surgically-repaired shin.
But this isn’t all about Cunningham, as the Pistons led the NBA in games missed to injury last season, so staying healthy will be one of the keys to them climbing out of the cellar. Monty Williams is going to have to manage his roster, play around these back-to-back games and try to ensure his team stays healthy, even if it means staggering rest days for some of the veterans and not pushing Cunningham too hard initially.