Surprising Buzzkill

[HotelVitale]

In terms of talent and fit/cohesion, I don't see how we're not in the same pack as:
Atlanta
Cleveland
Washington
Toronto
Milwaukee

Atlanta is arguably better than last year, when they waltzed to the sixth seed. Cleveland's season depends on health, buy they have Irving and Varejao and 4-5 guys who could play at above average level this year. WAS had been discussed enough here but I believe they could be a 5th seed if Wall and Beal play like they did the last part of last season, and if their bigs are healthy; still in the mix for 7th-8th if only one of these things happen. Toronto underachieved last year but quietly has a very talented 7-man rotation, led by Kyle Lowry, J Val, and Rudy Gay. Milwaukee isn't really worse than last year, and we shouldn't forget that a) Larry Sanders showed himself as a true defensive anchor last year and b) Ilyasova can score and board with really good efficiency, and the rest of their rotation is at least average offensively.

Assuming five very probable teams above this group, that leaves us and these five fighting for three spots. Given these facts, if I was betting I would take a straight even bet on us making the playoffs. But nothing more: I don't think we're unquestionably better/more talented than any of these teams, and guessing about injuries and chemistry is always hard. So in my mind it's 50/50 that we get one of those three spots.

[Dirtgrain]

The Pistons, with the Josh Smith signing, have moved themselves right into that **** scenario in the NBA, where the team is borderline to make the playoffs. If they do, they have no chance of winning a championship. If they don't, they'll have no chance of winning the lottery, because their record will likely be too good.

I love the position that the Pistons are in. They have an opportunity to surprise us. I want them to be in a position where they have to rise up. Let's find out what this team is made of. Let them develop a winning culture. Let them finally play in some games that matter. It's easy to say they are in no position to win a championship. We all see the unlikely nature of that--but really, we can stick this label on all but five or six teams any given year (and we're wrong sometimes). Crap, even the Heat didn't win the first year they had the power trio together.

These games still matter for the Pistons. Games where clutch baskets and defense are needed matter. If they make the playoffs this year, then we will expect more of them the next. If they don't make the playoffs this year, then next year we'll hear all about they are in the crappy position of not being able to do anything in the playoffs.

They have talented bigs, youth, and okay depth. Sure, they likely need more pieces. But this core (Monroe, Drummond, Smith) could feasibly be the starting bigs on a championship team. People are seeing Drummond as a Shaq/Howard hybrid--obviously major speculation--but there is potential/talent there. He could be our superstar.

The Pistons need to fill the seats (or we they won't be in Detroit much longer). I need to see some competitive basketball. F___ losing. F___ it to hell.

[bardobeing]

I think our vastly upgraded defense (starting Dre from the get and Josh in there too) will keep us competitive early on until things start to gel with the new coach(es) and don't forget the return of our on-court coach/leader/locker room general CB1.

I would say no worse than a 6 seed IMO.

[Defor]

I think were gonna surprise some people. I'm thinking something in the 42 to 43 win range. Honestly tho as long as we show improvement and finish strong I'll be happy, its next year i'm really looking for a jump from us in the standings .

[2Mas]

Cavs, Pistons, Wizards, Raptors will be 4 teams fighting for the 6-7-8th seeds.

I think Det & Tor fight for 8th honestly. Wash was good last 40 games & definitely getting better. Cavs made a lot of moves.

I like Det's team. Think Drummonds gonna come off the bench again though.

Guessing KCP can play the 3? I like Det better than Tor but I think it comes down to those 2 for the last spot.

[Collymore]

I think were gonna surprise some people. I'm thinking something in the 42 to 43 win range.

That's a pretty wide range, care to narrow it down a bit?

[King Bugs]

Cautiously optimistic is the way to go with this team. The East is so incredibly weak at the bottom, we'll totally be in the mix, but so will 5 or 6 other teams. I wouldn't be surprised if the 7th and 8th seed do not have records over .500.

We have questions that will need to be answered:

1) Who's the go to guy on offense? Is it Josh? Can it be Josh? He's not playing with other all-stars anymore (Horford & JJ). When we're struggling to score can we feed him the ball and say "get us a bucket"?

2) Froncourt fit? No one, 3 through 5 has a jumpshot defenses need to be afraid of, spacing could be a huge issue. Josh and Greg may not have a lot of driving lanes and our frontcourt could potentially be in each other's way.

3) Backcourt play? We're easily fielding one of the least impressive backcourts in the NBA. We need them to create shots, space, and knock down triples. Unfortunately only 1 player on the roster has a 3PT percentage above 35% (Brandon Knight - 36.7%)

4) Freethrow shooting. We have at least 4 starters with FT%s below 75%. We've lost a handful of games at the FT line last year. Close games have the potential to be absolutely maddening.

Every team that's in the same tier with us has their issues as well, it'll be fun to see how this plays out. I like how none of our questions seem to be defensive (until proven otherwise). That's a positive compared to previous seasons.