The Detroit Pistons won 60 games last season, which some have taken less as a sign of their excellence and more as a combination of fluky factors.
The Eastern Conference had several tankers trying to take advantage of the last year when they could bottom out for the best odds. There were key injuries to players like Tyrese Haliburton that kept certain teams from reaching their full potential.
There is also this notion that the Pistons just tried harder than everyone else and took the regular season more seriously than teams like the Knicks who were title or bust and didn’t much care where they were seeded in the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference should also be more competitive this season with some big names joining new teams.
Zach Lowe recently questioned if the Pistons would even finish in the top six next season, citing most of these factors along with some questions about their offseason moves.
All of these things have some element of truth but also overlook the fact that the Pistons were a great team last year led by arguably the best player in the East. Detroit had a 15-7 record against the top-10 teams in the NBA, so the notion that they just beat up on the Wizards and Nets is not true.
There is also the fact that none of these teams in the revamped East have proven anything.
The Pistons have fewer questions than the other Eastern contenders
It’s fair to question whether the additions of Isaiah Joe and John Collins will be enough to push the Pistons deeper into the playoffs, as they don’t necessarily solve Detroit’s biggest problem.
But it’s also fair to question some of these other teams before we start penciling them in ahead of the Pistons in the standings.
Everyone is just assuming the Celtics will be a top-four team again even though they are now counting on Paul George to play a key role. Jayson Tatum may be good enough to carry Boston there even if George does get hurt, but to act as if losing Jaylen Brown is nothing is ridiculous.
The 76ers, Raptors and Heat should all be better, but Philly is counting on good health from Embiid and LeBron and may have some bumps trying to figure out all of these ball-dominant players. There are a lot of egos on that team, and you never know how those situations will turn out.
The Raptors are hoping to squeeze another relatively healthy season out of Kawhi Leonard, who will likely be booed everywhere he goes. It’s not given this works out, and the Raptors did give up an All-Star to get him.
The Heat are going to be good defensively, but Bam Adebayo and Giannis do mitigate some of each other’s strengths. Miami has no depth after trading for Giannis, so again, this is a team with question marks.
The Pistons have fewer, as they kept their main core in place, added shooting and have as much continuity as any of the top teams. That should be enough for them to again compete for the Eastern Conference.
I understand the doubts, but some of this is revisionist history that takes away from what the Pistons achieved last season.
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