#2: The hangover from the worst season in Detroit Pistons history
Last season was embarrassing.
From the front office to the back of the bench, everyone involved with last season should be ashamed and want to put it behind us.
But what if they can’t?
The Pistons start out with a brutal schedule that could see them in an early hole. What if they lose 5-6 games in a row to start the season? Are the players just going to say, “here we go again” and start to go through the motions of losing like they did last year?
And there is the opposite concern, which is that the team will be so desperate to improve from last season that they will do anything to win a few more games, including playing short-term placeholders like THJ more than some of their young guys.
If the Pistons win 30 games with all of their young players getting big minutes and improving, that is one thing. If they do it by riding a bunch of over-the-hill vets into the ground at the expense of players like Ausar Thompson, it will be another lost season.
The Pistons can’t be so desperate to make superficial improvements that it is to the detriment of the players who will be here past next year. Next season shouldn’t and can’t be all about development, as they do have to actually try to win games at some point, but if Ausar Thompson is playing 15 minutes a night off the bench because Tim freaking Hardaway Jr, is making 37 percent of his 3-point shots, I am going to tear out my hair.
The ghost of the 28-game losing streak could affect the Pistons whether they exceed or fall short of expectations, so as hard as it will be, they have to start fresh and not let last year’s failure turn into this year’s.