Detroit Pistons legend Grant Hill thinks his former team is primed to be one of the best in the Eastern Conference next season.
The Pistons came out of nowhere last year to take the 6th seed in the East behind an All-NBA campaign from Cade Cunningham, improvement from Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren, and the steady play of the veterans Trajan Langdon acquired in his first offseason as team president.
In a recent interview with RG, Hill predicted big things for the Pistons and had a couple of reasons that are flying under the radar with all of the offseason trades dominating the headlines.
The Detroit Pistons finally have continuity
The Pistons did lose Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Dennis Schroder from last year’s team, guys who were a big part of their unexpected success.
But they didn’t replace them with unknowns, as Duncan Robinson has long been one of the best volume 3-point shooters in the league and has a more varied offensive game overall than Beasley.
Caris LeVert is a veteran who knows how to get buckets off the bench. He’s an upgrade from THJ, as he’s a better defender and shot creator, so again, the Pistons may have come out ahead.
They will miss having a steady-handed veteran point guard, but the Pistons still have time to sign one or could use a number of players to share that role.
Other than that, the Pistons are returning their starting five from the beginning of last season, a group that has grown together and developed chemistry, which should give them an advantage over teams that made big changes.
And as Hill pointed out, they have a continuity at coach, where JB Bickerstaff has been very good at getting the most out of his young players and putting them in position to succeed.
This group gets along, feeds off one another and should have great chemistry heading into next season.
The Eastern Conference is up for grabs
With both Boston and Indiana suffering devastating injuries and New York changing coaches, the East is as wide open as it has ever been, as Hill pointed out, saying,
“With the injuries, the roster changing in Boston...But also the injury to Haliburton. There’s a window there. New York's there. I think Detroit has an opportunity to take a step as well and be one of the better teams next season in the Eastern Conference."
The Cavs are still the team to beat until further notice, the Bucks should be better with Myles Turner and teams like the Hawks and Magic made big summer moves hoping to take advantage of Boston and Indiana’s misfortune.
The East will still be tough, but the Pistons should be improved, and with their continuity and chemistry, could move into the top four.