The Detroit Pistons had one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history last season, and unquestionably took a big leap. Next season, the Pistons will look to take yet another leap and jump into the top tier of the East. But other young teams in the conference will also be looking to leapfrog them, and ESPN believes two of them are poised for a major leap.
ESPN recently released their summer forecast based on a poll of different NBA Insiders. The first question on the forecast was: “Which teams will make a major leap?” Four teams received major shares of the vote for this question - Spurs, Hawks, 76ers and Magic.
The reasoning for the Spurs and 76ers as potential turnarounds is obvious. Both were plagued with injuries last season, and a return to semi-normal health could push either into at least playoff contention, but the two teams in the East will be the Pistons' concern.
Hawks and Magic: Big Signings in the Offseason
Both the Hawks and Magic made some big acquisitions in the last few months, in stark contrast to the Pistons’ conservative offseason. The Pistons are still in the phase of assessing some members of their potential core, while the Hawks and Magic feel that they have enough information to build around their core pieces.
The Magic made an early splash by trading for Desmond Bane back in June, and are hoping it will pay dividends for their offense and 3-point shooting. They’re adding Bane’s versatile shooting to a lineup that features two budding wing stars in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, as well as a premier perimeter defender in Jalen Suggs.
Bane doesn’t take away anything from the rest of the lineup, since he can also hold his own on defense. However, the one thing that Orlando is still lacking is a true tablesetter. As good as Suggs is on defense, his offense is mostly limited to hitting open 3s and running out in transition rather than being an elite creator for himself or others. Franz and Paolo are good scorers, but neither is a natural passer either.
On the Atlanta side of the equation, the Hawks had a busy offseason and came away adding the following players: Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kennard, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. They’re also expecting to get Jalen Johnson back from injury and hoping for a fully healthy season from him.
The Hawks’ moves were solid and added strong role-player contributors. All of their new acquisitions are capable of shooting at a very respectable level, and Porzingis/Alexander-Walker can strengthen the defense too. Overall, these are exactly the type of pieces you want to put around Trae Young.
The Hawks’ biggest weaknesses will be Young’s individual defense and the lack of playmaking outside of him. When Young is on the court, the opposing team will always have a liability that they can pick on. The rest of the Hawks will of course do their best to hide him, but that becomes harder to do against better teams, especially in the playoffs.
And when Young is on the bench, the offense may struggle to flow due to the Hawks’ lack of a true backup point guard. No one else on the team has ever averaged over 5 assists per game, so they’ll be looking for a committee approach to backup PG.
Both the Magic and Hawks finished behind the Pistons in the standings last year, but will be looking to pass them this season. Neither team is perfect, but both likely got better and the Pistons will have to play their best ball to fend them off.