Coming off a resurgent season and with the Eastern Conference being impacted by key injuries, the Detroit Pistons have high expectations for next season.
ESPN has projected them as the 11th best team in the NBA, based on a panel of experts, and 4th in the East behind the Cavaliers, Knicks and Magic. This projection seems quite optimistic, considering the Pistons were 6th in the East and 14th in the league overall last year. But the Pistons might be able to exceed even these lofty goals.
Did the NBA Power Rankings undersell the Pistons?
The Pistons are getting a huge addition during this offseason in the form of Jaden Ivey. Ivey was on his way to a breakout season last year before a catastrophic freak injury, and could be a favorite to win Most Improved Player next season.
His presence as a secondary creator, elite off-ball player (he shot over 45% on catch-and-shoot threes last year) and backup ball-handler can alleviate a lot of pressure from Cade Cunningham and lead to a better offense for the Pistons overall. Some of the Pistons’ biggest struggles last year came in the clutch, and adding Ivey as another go-to option can significantly help those struggles (see his game-winners against Sacramento and Toronto).
The Pistons also have the advantage of being a young team with still-improving stars. We saw the team improve on both sides of the ball last year as the season progressed, and many are expecting some big leaps in this offseason from certain members of the young core. In particular, rising defensive star Ausar Thompson is getting his first full NBA offseason and already looked like the team’s second-best player at times last year. Ron Holland also looked like one of the best players in Summer League and seemed to take leaps in meaningful ways that will help him contribute in a 3&D role for the main roster.
Compare the Pistons to the East teams ranked above them in the ESPN projections: the Cavaliers and Knicks will likely not experience as much internal growth as the Pistons due to the older age of their respective cores. While those teams did also add new players in the offseason through trades (Lonzo Ball to the Cavs) and free agency (Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to the Knicks), their main cores remain untouched. We already saw in the playoffs last year that the Pistons are not very far off from the Knicks, and the Cavaliers are at roughly the same level when healthy.
The top seeds in the East next year could be very close, and the Pistons may have a chance to go even farther than the most optimistic projections if they get lucky with the right matchups.