Predicting the Detroit Pistons' wins after the All-Star break

I'll probably regret doing this. Making predictions about the Detroit Pistons has been a fool's gambit this season and they've already burned me once before.

Like many others, I was optimistic coming into the season and predicted Detroit would win 34 games. The pathetic thing is that 34 wins is still bad, but it became clear early on that the Pistons weren't even going to sniff the low bar that was set for them, which was to "be competitive."

There was another injection of false hope after the trade deadline when Monty Williams had a shorthanded roster that forced him to play only 9-10 guys. The Pistons looked good for a few days but predictably reverted back to form with Williams extending his rotation to 13 players for some reason that no one but him understands.

With 28 games remaining, I'm sure Williams will be experimenting with his new players, which will undoubtedly cost the Pistons a few games. I'm sure they'll sneak a win or two in there, especially in the home stretch if some of the playoff teams they are facing have nothing to gain and rest key players.

So how many games will the Pistons win over the rest of the season?

Detroit Pistons schedule and wins prediction

Tough to say. I'd love to believe that the team will gel with the new players, everyone will stay healthy and the Pistons will do enough in these last games to make us feel some hope and build some momentum for next season.

But I've also watched this team long enough to know that is a pipe dream.

It's more likely that Cade Cunningham has some kind of setback that costs him games or at least forces the team to be cautious with his minutes. It's more likely that coach Williams keeps rolling out non-sensical rotations, never lets his players build a rhythm or chemistry and we go into the offseason with far more questions than answers.

Against my better judgment, I am going to err on the side of optimism and say the Pistons will win seven more games this season, ending this miserable campaign with 15 total wins.

This is probably way high, as there aren't a lot of "winnable" games left on the schedule, but I have them beating the Bulls, Magic, Nets, Hornets, Raptors, Wizards and Grizzlies.

It's sad that a 7-21 record equals being optimistic, but that's where we are with the 2023-24 Detroit Pistons.