NBA Analyst Doubles Down on Bold Detroit Pistons Prediction

Amid their strong showing last season, many have the Pistons as a budding threat in the East moving forward. However, Tim Bontemps isn't expecting another massive leap from Detroit in 2026. In a recent column for ESPN, he made a prediction that the team will end up falling short of its initial win projection of 47.

During a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, Bontemps doubled down on this stance. Looking back at history, he is expecting a much more modest regular-season campaign from Cunningham and company.

"I think Detroit will fall short of 47 wins," Bontemps said. "They had a historic jump last year. It was a great season. J.B. Bickerstaff did a terrific job, Cade Cunningham became an All-NBA player. They won their first playoff game in almost 20 years had that fun series against the Knicks in the first round. A lot of times when you see a team have that kind of a leap there's a bit of a consolidation the next season. They did lose some key pieces, they do have to reorient the roster a little bit."

While the Pistons did have some holes to fill this summer, Trajan Langdon found viable plug-and-play options like Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert to address the voids. There are also wild cards such as Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson to watch out for, as they could take steps forward in their development.

Given the weakened state of the Eastern Conference, there's a chance the Pistons are able to reach this projected win total. However, it will all come down to what the core pieces look like after another full summer of training.