The Detroit Pistons finished last season with the best record in the Eastern Conference. It’s a complete 180 from a team that won 14 games just three seasons ago. But the regular season success didn’t transition to the playoffs.
The Pistons struggled to get past an Orlando Magic team that they held a 3-1 lead against in the first round of the postseason. That series lead quickly vanished as Orlando forced a Game 7, proving that regular season records aren’t always the strongest indicator of postseason success. The Pistons then lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, and while it went to seven games, it was evident that Detroit had some glaring weaknesses that needed some addressing.
Entering the offseason, everyone knew the Pistons needed to add some 3-point shooting to a roster that struggled heavily keeping pace in the playoffs. However, the Pistons’ biggest move was replacing Tobias Harris, who signed with the Spurs, with John Collins. While Collins adds some frontcourt depth, especially with Jalen Duren’s contract status up in the air, he doesn’t exactly fill an important need for Detroit.
It’s clear the Pistons are hoping for some internal improvements for next season, but while the rest of the Eastern Conference reloaded, it’s a little difficult to justify a rather quiet offseason from the reigning regular season Eastern Conference champions.
Still, though, ESPN has high hopes for the Pistons. In their latest projections for next season, ESPN has the Pistons ranked No. 2 in the East, behind only the defending champion New York Knicks.
Pistons ranked ahead of the Sixers and Cavaliers
Detroit deserves respect for how they played last season, but it is pretty shocking to see them higher than a team like the Sixers. Philadelphia undoubtedly received the greatest injection of talent to their roster with the addition of LeBron James and pulling off a blockbuster trade that landed them Jaylen Brown.
The same goes with the Cavaliers, who beat the Pistons in the playoffs and re-signed James Harden to a new contract. Cleveland also just added Peyton Watson to their rotation, and yet they’re ranked third behind Detroit.
Here’s how ESPN projects the top 5 in the East to shake out:
- New York Knicks
- Detroit Pistons
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Boston Celtics
Clearly these rankings are taking into account the massive injury question marks that surround the Sixers. Although Philadelphia will start the season healthy, we already know how difficult it is to rely on the health of Joel Embiid. It’s not just Embiid either, the Sixers have struggled to field a healthy roster of all their stars in recent years, so perhaps they’ve been knocked down a few spots because of that.
As far as the Pistons ranking ahead of the Cavaliers, this could be a situation where the gap between the two teams is so razor thin that it really came down to a flip of a coin. We did just see both team go to seven games in the playoffs, though Cleveland is the team that came out on top. But given the offseason moves of both teams, it’s still rather surprising to see Detroit win out here.
Can the Pistons keep pace with the rest of the East?
This is the million-dollar question. The Knicks retained majority of their championship roster. The Cavaliers added Peyton Watson and will get a full year of the Donovan Mitchell-Harden partnership. The Sixers just became the most interesting team in the entire league with the additions of James and Brown. The Celtics, while a distant fifth in this category, can never be counted out.
Meanwhile, the Pistons are still in a contract stalemate with their star center who underperformed in the playoffs. Their biggest addition this summer is Collins, a versatile power forward who is coming off a season in which he averaged the fewest rebounds of his career. He’s certainly not going to fix Detroit’s 3-point issue. Or provide enough of a relief for Cade Cunningham as the offense’s No. 1 playmaker.
The offense might still have its issues, but one thing we know Detroit will deliver on is defense. And perhaps the Pistons can rely enough on that, and get some lucky breaks enough to prove ESPN right with these projections. Perhaps the Sixers really do struggle with health and fitting all those star pieces together. Maybe Detroit’s defense outweighs the high-powered offensive duo of Harden and Mitchell to beat them out in the standings.
We’ve already seen the Pistons prove everyone wrong when they finished atop the Eastern Conference last season, so perhaps they can do it again.
Pistons outrank Eastern Conference heavyweights in latest projection