It only took one game of the OKC vs. San Antonio series for it to be clear that if the Pistons want to seriously contend for titles, they are going to need more talent.Â
The first thing that immediately stood out is that the window for titles for anyone not named San Antonio might be closed for a while. Wembanyama is everything we thought he could be and more, dropping a casual 41 points, 23 rebounds and three blocks in the win. He's not even close to his peak yet, which is scary.
But it’s not just that the Spurs have the best player in the league, they are also one of the youngest teams in the NBA, already very good, and have an enviable supporting cast. All the same applies to OKC.Â
It was obvious just how loaded these two teams are, and how much work the Pistons (and the rest of the NBA) has to do to keep up.
The Detroit Pistons need upgrades to be seriousÂ
Detroit is lucky enough to have a young superstar in Cade Cunningham, which is not something most teams can say, so Detroit has a fighting chance, but they have to get better, as they don’t have enough around Cunningham.Â
That was clear from last night, as both OKC and San Antonio have a multitude of players who would be the second-best player on Detroit. The Thunder have four guards on their bench that would probably start for Detroit, who had to run out former two-way player Daniss Jenkins in the starting five.Â
No offense to Jenkins or Robinson, but neither of them would sniff the starting five of either the Spurs or Thunder. Even if you take out SGA and Wemby, it’s arguable that every other player in the starting five of their respective teams would be the second-best player on the Pistons.Â
Detroit was bringing guys like Caris LeVert, Kevin Huerter and Javonte Green off their bench, while OKC and San Antonio are rolling out guys like Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso.Â
But it’s not just the role players, both the Thunder and Spurs have second (and third) stars to flank their superstars, players who take a lot of pressure and burden off their shoulders, something Cade Cunningham clearly didn’t have.Â
Detroit will get some of what they need with internal improvement from players like Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren and Ron Holland II, but some of it may have to come from the outside.
I’m not saying a team from the Eastern Conference can’t beat one of these two, especially if they have a seven-game war in the West with games like the first one, but it’s clear that the titles are going to go through one of them for the foreseeable future. Good luck, Western Conference!
Anyone that wants to compete needs to load up, as the best of the West come with relentless waves of quality depth, and the rest of the league should be on notice.Â
Add us as a preferred source on Google