The Detroit Pistons’ Decline Is Being Greatly Exaggerated

Looking at national sports media, the Detroit Pistons don’t exactly have glowing reviews. “The Pistons are now a Play-In team.” “The Pistons overpaid for Jalen Duren.” “The Pistons are a worse team than they were a year ago.” Every outlet has some version of Detroit falling behind in the Eastern Conference.

To be fair, there is some merit to this. The memories that fans and media have of the Pistons over the last five months aren’t exactly great. A 60-win team that came close to losing to the Orlando Magic. The team lost their second-leading playoff scorer to the San Antonio Spurs. The major contract standoff… It’s been a lot of negativity around the team, and with the East improving greatly this summer, it’s understandable that people are sour. The East looks that much tougher for Detroit, but they’re not as bad as you think.

The Pistons Are In A Better Position Than You Think

Is there a rain cloud over the Pistons? Sure, but it’s not a storm cloud. Detroit is not going from a 60-win team to a 40-win team. There’s going to be a slight drop-off, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to the worst team. The defensive infrastructure and coaching is still there, and the core players are still here. The Pistons made team adjustments; some of the moves were lateral, but not downgrades. There’s going to be a shift in how the team plays offensively, and this is why:

Losing out on Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris will be difficult losses to navigate, but the Pistons brought in Isaiah Joe, John Collins, and Taurean Prince, among other additions, because the team wanted to prioritize shooting. Though there were other major issues for the team, one thing to note is that the team only had one sharpshooter on the court last year, Duncan Robinson, and when he wasn’t converting shots, the team struggled. Getting shooters on the floor not only helps the team from the perimeter, but it also opens the floor for two players.

Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren are the main beneficiaries of the improved shooting. Thompson, who is still developing his shot, will be able to slash to the rim more efficiently and be able to utilize his playmaking by forcing defenders to stay on a shooter’s hip. Duren can roll to the basket more effectively with defenses now giving him more one-on-one matchups to the rim by trying to guard the outlet pass to a shooter. These moves were made with them in mind. This team is building a new engine, and the beneficiary is a certain 6’8” point guard.

This team is now much better suited for Cade Cunningham. With a bigger playmaker like Cunningham, the team needs floor spacing so he can operate effectively. Cade needs shooting to open the floor, and it’s no mistake that Cade has taken a leap when he’s surrounded by the Duncan Robinsons and Malik Beasleys of the world. Cade is going to benefit from the shooting, but there’s one last key.

The core of Cade, Thompson, and Duren are going into their combined fourth season together, and they now have two playoff years under their belts. Losing on the big stage is a part of winning on the big stage. This team has seen turbulent times, and they are all growing in the right direction. They’re continuing to grow and are getting better as players and as teammates. Every mistake and lesson fans and media are discussing, they are too. This is a team that’s getting battle-tested, and it will result in wins.

The Pistons aren’t taking a step back as an organization or as a team. Losing a few more games is not the same as getting worse. This is still a 50+ win roster. Fans and Media can doubt them, but don’t let the Pistons win again.