Detroit Pistons
Winter is coming.
If the Spurs are the White Walkers, then the Pistons are the Wildlings — stuck in frozen harsh winter with a cold future ahead.
The Detroit Pistons roared out of the gate each of the last two years, only to eventually slow way down, falling back to reality. Detroit squeaked into the playoffs last season, but they were gone fishin’ before they even showed up, steamrolled by Giannis and the Bucks in the cleanest of sweeps.
The good 2018-19 news: Blake Griffin had a damn fine season. He finally stayed healthy and on the court. The 75 games he played were his most since 2013-14. Point Blake became a revelation in Detroit. He also shot seven 3s per game and at a respectable 36 percent to boot. Lob City Blake is now a ghost from our past, but Blake has evolved into a modern big that absolutely has a place in today’s game. (Although you would prefer it not to be for $34M, $36M and then $38M over the next three years.)
The bad 2018-19 news: Blake unfortunately broke down come playoff time. The Pistons didn’t stand a chance without him. They were pulverized to smithereens, losing to the Bucks by an average of 24 points per game. Can Blake stay healthy again during 2019-20? The Pistons will sure need him to if they want another shot at the playoffs.
Andre Drummond is a formidable presence in the post. You can’t deny it. But you can bring up how he seems to fold on the biggest stage. And you can bring up how he’s still not really an ideal fit next to Blake. But Big Penguin is still gonna get his 15 points and 15 boards a game. He’s the best rebounder in the league. And he’s played 78 or more games for six straight seasons, leading the league in offensive rebounds in all six. Drummond has improved dramatically at the free throw line, where he averaged an NBA worst and very embarrassing 38 percent for the first 5 years of his career. He’s upped that to 60 percent over the last two seasons and we’re sure he’ll be jacking more 3s soon enough. (Narrator: He did start jacking more threes.)
Detroit is the latest stop for the Derrick Rose Tour which is kinda strange cause Reggie Jackson is still here. Rose can turn back the clock on occasion. Jackson is consistently inconsistent. How in the hell has Jackson already been in the league for 8 years?
Luke Kennard is a lefty sniper at 40 percent from 3 in his first two NBA seasons. Kennard played well in that series against Milwaukee, the lone silver lining.
Two Milwaukee Bucks castoffs are in Detroit now: Tony Snell and 7-foot-1 Thon Maker. Snell and Maker are two players we kinda thought would be better than what they’ve shown us so far.
Keef Morris is also a new Piston, so you can expect the 2nd unit to have more valor than usual.
ESPN.com’s Detroit Pistons depth chart currently lists Bruce Brown as the starting shooting guard. Bruce Brown averaged 4.3 points in 19.6 minutes per game as a rookie.
Head coach Dwane Casey has his work cut out for him, but we know the former Coach of the Year will be up for the task. The Pistons will compete, but it’s unlikely to be crisp basketballin’, especially with so many other spectacular items on the menu.
League Pass Notes
Blake Griffin, supreme power dunker of the past. Andre Drummond, power dunker by default thanks to his size. Christian Wood, preseason power dunker!?
We would like to know more about this 18-year-old French rookie, Captain Cook, Sekou Doumbouya.
ISO JOE in Motor City straight from The Big3!
We do always enjoy hearing “DEEETROIIIIIIT BASKETTTBALLLLLL”
The Final Question / The Final Take
If the Pistons scrape their way back to the postseason again, will it even be worth it? Not an ideal question to have on the table.
Detroit’s ceiling just isn’t very high. Even in the East, the winters here are just too brutal. UNDER 37.5 wins.