How many teams can the Pistons realistically jump in the standings?
The Detroit Pistons were the worst team in the NBA last season, so they can only go up from here.
How much they can improve is up for debate, as some sites like ESPN have them winning 26 games, while Homers like me are slightly more optimistic with their win predictions.
Detroit didn’t grab any headlines with free-agent additions, but they did add two useful veterans and most importantly, will be getting back a healthy and motivated Cade Cunningham.
light. Related Story. Expiring deals the Pistons could target
Cunningham missed all but 12 games last season, so I would argue that he was one of, if not the biggest, addition to any team in the Eastern Conference this offseason.
But the East should be improved as a whole, so climbing in the standings is not going to be easy for the Detroit Pistons There were a lot of teams in between the Pistons and the playoffs last season, so how many of them can they realistically overtake?
Detroit Pistons: Only if they blow it up
Hawks, Bulls, Raptors, Nets
I think we can immediately rule out the Bucks, 76ers, Cavaliers, Knicks and Heat, who are all contenders who are in a different tier from the Detroit Pistons.
The Hawks, Bulls, Raptors and Nets all won 40 or more games last season, more than double Detroit. But none of them made any big offseason additions and I could defintely see the Bulls and Raptors in particular, making trades to try and get themselves out of NBA purgatory.
None of these teams are good enough to win a title, but they should all be better than Detroit unless they decide to make some roster-altering trades.