The Detroit Piston begin their 2025-26 campaign tonight in Chicago, and even after a relatively quiet offseason where they didn’t make radical changes to the roster, there are questions lingering as they enter the season.
Can Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert unlock the Pistons’ offense in the half court?
There has been a lot of talk about the Pistons’ lack of shooting beyond Duncan Robinson and it is a concern. Losing Beasley’s historic shooting will hurt, but the Pistons are hoping the increased versatility of the new players will make up for it, especially in the half court.
Robinson is much better in the dribble handoff and pick and roll as a passer and attacker, which should add an element with Jalen Duren the Pistons didn’t have last season from Beasley.
LeVert is more of a creator than THJ, so he too can bring a new look to their attack. Will it be enough to make up for losing half of their made 3-point shots from last season? We shall see.
Who is the second star?
We were hoping Jaden Ivey would be the answer to this but we’ll have to wait at least a month to find out.
In the meantime, Jalen Duren looks primed to make a leap after a strong preseason and Ausar Thompson will get an increased opportunity to handle the ball with both Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser out to start the season.
Will one of these two emerge as the second star? I wouldn’t bet against it.
Who controls the ball when Cade Cunningham is off the court?
This is a big question right away, as Ivey is out and Sasser is listed as doubtful for tonight. The short-term answer could be Daniss Jenkins who looked like an NBA rotation player in preseason.
LeVert and Thompson will get increased reps leading the offense, so the Pistons will stick with the by committee approach, but do it without some key guys. The minutes with Cade off the court will be key and the Pistons have to do more than just survive them.
Can the young team tune out the noise?
Even though the Pistons didn’t make a dramatic move this offseason, it wasn’t without its distractions.
They had the veteran turnover, the Malik Beasley situation, Jaden Ivey’s late injury and the contract extensions that didn’t get resolved for him and Duren.
The team will also be dealing with increased expectations after making the playoffs, so this is a new level of scrutiny and attention that they are not used to getting. They’ll need to tune out the noise and not pay attention to the avalanche of negative media that could accompany this season if they get off to a slow start.
Was last year a fluke?
A lot went right for the Pistons last season. They were mostly healthy, with only the injury to Ivey costing them a key rotation player.
Beasley had a historic season shooting the ball. Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris both played better than expected and the Pistons got a monster and healthy season from Cade, which is the key to everything.
No one saw them coming, which certainly won’t be the case this year, as they’ve gotten a lot of attention and accolades. Now it’s time to prove it wasn’t a one-off and that they are team that will be in the mix in the Eastern Conference for the forseeable future.
This season marks the 50th for George Blaha and it would be amazing if the Pistons could do something magical for the GOAT. LET’S GOOOOOOO!