Detroit Pistons
The 2022-23 Detroit Pistons can be defined by winning a league-worst 17 games and getting the No. 5 pick to show for it.
What did we learn?
Detroit finished last in the Eastern Conference for the second time in three years.
The Pistons have not won more than 23 games or finished better than 12th in the East since 2018-19 when they finished as the 8-seed with a .500 record. (Shoutout Pistons Blake Griffin.)
Before he was lost for the season due to a shin injury that required surgery, Cade Cunningham showed signs of blossoming into an ultimate shot creator, getting to his spots with ease. Unfortunately, he only played 12 games this season after undergoing season-ending shin surgery.
Luckily the Pistons had another prized lottery pick to at least keep things mildly interesting. That’s probably being generous, but No. 5 overall draft pick Jaden Ivey’s speed and willingness to be a passer translated well to the NBA. He struggled with his 3-point shot early on, but he connected on 42 percent of his 3s in February. He also increased his scoring every month from December to the end of the season.
How the Detroit offense would have looked this season without Bojan Bogdanovic is a mystery. (Just like the decision to not trade him at the deadline to a contender). The Pistons acquired Bogdanovic last summer and he was the team’s No. 1 option all season after Cade went down, averaging 21.6 points and 15 shot attempts a night. Despite all of the usage, he still shot 41 percent from 3 on 6.0 attempts per game.
It felt like Bogey’s presence hindered Saddiq Bey’s development as Bey took a step back with a lesser role. But then the Pistons moved on from Bey altogether at the deadline to get another big in James Wiseman.
There is nothing wrong with taking a flier on Wiseman, although he just seems so redundant for what the Pistons already have. At times, rookie Jalen Duren was a double-double machine. Isaiah Stewart stayed hustling boards and also started chucking 3s. Beef Stew can make them, but four 3-point attempts per game might be too many.
There was a random early-December night where Killian Hayes shot 10-of-13, including the dagger in OT to beat the Mavs. There were a couple of other big Killian games, but he shot 37.7 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3, which was actually a new career high.
The Pistons had the No. 28 offense and the No. 27 defense, equalling the third-worst net rating in the league ahead of only the Rockets and Spurs. They closed out the last 25 games of the season with a 2-23 record.
Dwane Casey decided to step down as head coach after the season. It was a forgettable five-year run with a 121-263 record. But at least the Pistons covered the spread in three of four games against the Raptors this season. (Detroit lost all four games to Toronto but beat them three times last season.)
With Cade going down, this was always going to be a lost season for Detroit if it wasn’t already going to be one anyway.
The hope of Wemby or another high pick to show for it was dashed away on lottery night.
There is no doubt about that stinging immensely, but at least they have a recent No. 1 pick to still be excited about.
It could always be worse.
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Additional Notes
Shout out to Alec Burks who had a quietly solid season in Motown. Burks shot above 40 percent from 3 for a third straight season. Also, when Burks scored 18+ points this season, the Pistons had a 6-5 record. (The Pistons were 11-60 in all other games.)
Marvin Bagley still can’t catch a break. The dude dealt with more injuries this season, playing less than 50 games for a fourth straight year.
He’s on his third team in as many years in the league, but R.J. Hampton has always been somebody we were intrigued by. (It probably stems from his random power dunk game in Denver and meeting his fam at Summer League.)
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Thought the Over was the move initially but have since switched it up. (That means Detroit will probably be this year’s Young Surprise Team.) Under 29.5 wins.
Pistons 2022-23 record: (17-65)
Yes indeed. The Pistons were, in fact, not a Young Surprise Team. They were the worst team in the league.
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What’s Next?
The No. 5 pick in the draft. If that sounds familiar it’s because Detroit is picking No. 5 for a second consecutive year. The good news is that several big wings should be available. Perhaps one of the Thompson twins or Cam Whitmore from Villanova.
Dwane Casey is out and Monty Williams is IN. His six-year, $78.5 million contract making him the highest paid coach in the game is still shocking as hell.
The Pistons do have at least $30 million in cap space. Let’s see if they get any free agents with it.
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Favorite Pistons Highlight of the 2022-23 Season:
The Return of Power Dunk City. Coming Soon.
