The Detroit Pistons made their long awaited return to the playoffs last season after a six year hiatus. They also won a couple playoff games, unlike their last two trips to the postseason, and look to add a full series win and more next season. Based on current preseason projections, the Pistons could easily find themselves in a position to undo the Cleveland Cavaliers’ entire team, which happens to the team that fired JB Bickerstaff.
Cleveland Cavaliers: A team teetering on the edge
Most preseason projections have the Cavs finishing first in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. Last season, they finished first behind a historic offense led by All-Star guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Additionally, they also had a solid defense anchored by Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley.
With the East being weakened next season by injuries to notable stars Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Halliburton, the Cavs are expected to once again finish in pole position after the regular season. The Pistons are also expected to climb up a couple spots based on those injuries. Last season, the Pistons finished the season sixth in the standings, but next season most analysts are putting them at fourth or fifth.
Of course, this would line up the two teams in each other‘s crosshairs in the second round of the playoffs. If the Cavaliers once again finished as the top seed in the East, it would be very expected for them to win a first-round series against a play-in team. For the Pistons, a first-round series win is far less guaranteed, but their projected opponent would be the Atlanta Hawks, who the Pistons have played well. Even in recent franchise-worst seasons, the Pistons have still matched up well with Atlanta.
The Cavaliers have extremely high expectations this season. A playoff exit before the Conference finals would be absolutely devastating to the team and fanbase. A loss of that nature would be bad enough against an established team but losing to an up-and-coming team like the Pistons would cause complete havoc in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers’ current position is very reminiscent of the Utah Jazz in 2021 after finishing as the first seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz lost a disappointing playoff series to the Los Angeles Clippers that season. The following season, they had another disappointing playoff exit losing in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks. After that season, they finally decided to blow up their team and trade away All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
An early playoff exit for the Cavaliers next season could lead to the same results for Donovan Mitchell. The current iteration of the Cavaliers is very expensive, both in terms of how much players are getting paid on their current contracts and how much draft capital was given up to acquire players like Mitchell.
If things line up how analysts are predicting, the Pistons will have an incredible opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin for a division rival in the Cavaliers. It would signal not only the end of the Cavs’ current roster, but also the arrival of the Pistons as a new bonafide contender in the East.