Are the Pistons Contenders?
First off, let’s acknowledge that the super Warriors aren’t invincible. Cool. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s discuss the teams that can conceivably contend for a championship this year. Let’s pick a few per conference for the hell of it, and then talk about where the Pistons stack up against them.
The new and improved Golden State Warriors are obviously the heavy favorites to win the title as of now, but keep in mind that the super Miami Heat only won 2 of their 4 finals appearances. Injuries can happen. Other teams can step up. And every now and then, superstars disappear on the big stage. Last year’s record breaking 73 wins team couldn’t get it done, so I’m not counting anything out.
The defending champs, who still have the best player in the world mind you, aren’t looking to give up their throne that easily. Expect them to coast through the regular season and show up when it matters. Lebron is still Lebron, and Lebron always has a shot at the title.
The San Antonio Spurs were supposed to oppose the Warriors in the conference finals last season and have a shot at the finals. That didn’t happen, but they haven’t gotten any worse this offseason, so I fully expect them to be right back in that conversation. Tim Duncan’s retirement will make watching them extremely weird, but adding a still very capable Pau Gasol more than makes up for their title chances.
Now you could sit here and tell me the Thunder don’t have a chance now that Kevin Durant left, but I have a pretty good feeling that Russell Westbrook is angry and feels like he has something to prove. That should be scary for the rest of the league. Adding Oladipo gives them a very dynamic backcourt, and I believe they’ll be competing at the top once again.
The Clippers are the best constantly underachieving team the NBA has to offer. Every year for the last few seasons they were supposed to be contending right up there with the other big dogs, but year after year they haven’t. Injuries cost them in last years playoffs, so I expect them to play like they have something to prove this time around, which they do.
Ya know what? I’m going to stop there, because I don’t think anyone at this very moment in the East is really going to knock the Cavs out. Luckily for everyone else, the playoffs aren’t at this very moment. I think that there are actually a few teams in the East that can potentially take down the Cavs, and that this might be the last year the Cavs completely rule the conference, but I’ll get there in my conference previews.
LET’S TALK ABOUT WHERE THE PISTONS STACK UP AGAINST THESE TEAMS, SHALL WE?
Hear me out here. Right now, the Pistons are not contenders. If I said they were, you would point to the sweep that they just experienced at the hands of the eventual champs and there would be nothing I can say other than this;
Ever since Stan Van Gundy took over, the Pistons have shown steady, great improvement. They’re bringing back their same starting 5, which by the way could compete with any starting 5 that any team could put in front of us, and now they’re a year older with a taste of the playoffs. There were a few holes, and not to use the great Steve Blake’s name in vein, but him and our bench were a big problem for us. They lost plenty of leads and really didn’t help us much in the playoffs.
Oh sorry what was that? The Pistons addressed those holes during this offseason? Well that’s kind of cool. The bench has been beefed up, and now with Jon Leuer and Boban Marnjonovic, they’ve now added quite a bit of size, which caused some issues for us in the playoffs. Not to mention the addition of Ish Smith who’s going to run the second unit 10x better than Steve Blake did. So now let’s look at what this means in terms of contending.
Post Tobias Harris trade, as I talked about in 'A TASTE', the Pistons were a 50+ win team. The bench has improved mightily since then, and I fully expect every individual on our team to have significantly improved by the time the season starts as well. I don’t know about you, but I think if the Pistons played anyone other than the Cavs in the first round, they would’ve had a great shot at making it to at least the second round.
Now I can’t sit here and tell you that the Pistons are contenders at this very moment, but I genuinely believe that by the end of the season they’ll be in the conversation. Picture another year under Stan Van Gundy. I have a feeling that the defense will greatly improve compared to where it was last time now that the players understand better that defense wins in the playoffs. The chemistry seems like it’s already there, and so is the Detroit Vs Everybody mentality.
The Pistons have three perimeter defenders that can shut down, or at least contain, any of the league’s superstars. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can defend any point guard or shooting guard the league has to offer. Marcus Morris and Stanley Johnson can take care of any wing thrown their way. Jon Leuer can now come in and handle bigger power forwards, and Andre Drummond should be better defensively this year just as he was during our quick start last season. You know how the old saying goes: Defense wins championships.
I don’t know if this is a bold claim or not, but by the time the playoffs come around, the Pistons will be in the contender conversation. We might not have a superstar on our squad, but we can compete with any team. Our young team is at the beginning of a limitless ascension. Getting into the playoffs opened the door to much more, and now it’s time to show the world that Detroit Basketball is back again.
