Hopes for this season.. this off-season..

[blueadams]

Andre Drummond. I hope that him and Reggie can really, really get a great pick and roll game going this season. I hope that he can get his FT% to near 50% w the new shooting specialist coach on board. I hope that he can continue to improve his low-post games, his post-moves, in isolation. Hope that he continues to improve as a defender.. becomes a more intelligent defender. Hope that being next to a real/stretch 4 improves our low-post defense in general. Hope that he continues to be a great rebounder. Could be a breakout season for Dre? Guess we'll have to wait and see. But an All-Star selection isn't totally out of the question.

Stanley Johnson. I hope that he'll be able to solidify himself as our second best player this season. I hope that his shooting will continue to improve under the guidance of the new coach. That he'll be able to shoot around 35% from deep, and not be a liability in that sense. Pretty much know that he's going to be a great defender and rebounder for his position already. Hoping to really see him flash some 2-guard ability, ala Jimmy Butler. Handling the ball, attacking the basket, making good, smart passes.

Reggie Jackson. Like I said, hope that he and Dre can really get a great pick and roll going. Hope, with the shooting coach on board, that he'll be able to get his 3pt% into the 33% range, and improve his mid-range, pull-up J. Hope that he'll continue getting to the rim more, and not settling for that shot. Hope that he'll really be a dangerous penetrate and kick point man with some actual shooters around him. And, honestly.. I think that Reggie has the ability to be the best defensive on-ball point guard in the entire league. That's my absolute favorite thing about him. And, in this point guard driven league, I really hope to see him start to reach that potential.

Ersan Ilyasova. First and foremost, I'm hoping to see great toughness and effort out of Big E as a Piston. He's got the size and ability to be a solid defender and rebounder -- especially on the offensive glass, for a stretch-4. Let's see if he wants to do it. Hopefully he'll get his outside shot back up to over 40% as well.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. To me, this is a pretty big season for KCP. Is he a solid role player off the bench, a solid starter, or a good starter in this league? Personally, if it's going to be as a good starter, I think he needs to do it as a Danny Green-type. Plus defender for his position. Ice cold outside shooter. Really hoping that he'll improve big time as an outside shooter, perhaps approaching 37% from 3. Hope that he'll continue to improve as a defender, perhaps getting a bit stronger. And, you know, all around game improvement as well, which seems to more or less be coming along.

Marcus Morris. Know he's going to bring toughness. Know he's going to bring great defense -- hopefully at the 3 and 4 spots. And I hope that he'll be able to get his shot back into the 37+% range from deep. Hoping that he'll be able to establish himself as our first forward, at the 3 and 4, off the bench for the forseeable future. Allowing a poor'er defending Tolliver to have a smaller role, should we chose to resign him after this season.

Aaron Baynes. I'm really interested to see what this guy can do in a larger role. Think he should be a solid, tough and smart enough low-post defender. Has that nice mid-range J and some real offensive ability (that he's yet to really show in the NBA). Great FT shooter for late game situation Dre subs. Hoping that he turns out to be a real steal of a signing for us. And our backup center for the immediate future.

Spencer Dinwiddie. His personal stats don't really reflect it. But I saw a lot of potential in Dinwiddie last season. We always just seemed to play very well as a team with him in the game. Smooth operator at the point, when he gets in there. Hope to see him improve, really, all around. As an outside shooter. As a defender. Taking it to the rim. Play-making. But like I said.. he is already pretty good. Just needs to continue to add to his game. Hope to see him emerge as our backup point of the future.

Jodie Meeks. Meeks showed flashes last season. But he was terrible. And he needs to be a lot better. He needs to get his outside shot back to over 40%. Everything else with him pretty much is what it is. But I really hope he can re-establish himself as a fire off the bench instant offense ice cold knock down shooter.

Darrun Hilliard. Hope he's as big a steal as Dinwiddie. Hope he can shoot from deep. Hope he can defend alright. Hope he can operate in an offense. Shall see.

Joel Anthony. Was solid as an effort backup center off the bench last season. Hope he'll be the same this. Not expecting a ton more, really.

That's it for guys I care about (who will be back next season).

As for the off-season. I guess you probably gotta be looking at wings. And it's a bare market. Don't know much about the draft class yet, but I hope we'll be drafting late enough to be looking for backups anyways. Maybe a solid defending, outside shooting, tough 3 to come off the bench, enabling Morris to focus on the 4. Free Agency-wise, your best option might actually be old Joe Johnson, or Batum. I guess you hope that KCP and Stanimal are good enough that you don't have to. But if KCP doesn't take a step forward this season, maybe you go after JJ?

[pistonsfan00]

Jennings???

[mercury]

Jennings???

He hopes he's on another team

[tmorgan]

And1 for the hopes.

I hope even half of this stuff comes true. We'll be a playoff team if that's the case.

[hoophabit]

I gave you an and1 as well, because that was a lot of work! Holds together pretty well too.

I'd only remark that hopes for Drummond continuing to be a great rebounder is the same thing as hoping he stays healthy. A healthy Drummond will be a great rebounder. The other hopes make a lot of sense to me. As long as we're talking about hope, where Stanley Johnson is concerned I'm hoping he demonstrates fairly early that he is our best overall player. So far he looks like he could be a load at either the 2 or 3, while playing a bit of the 1 while doing that. Guy just seems to know how to hoop and isn't really deficient in any area of the game. Yes, he lost his Mom, but it doesn't appear that was a huge shock within the family. Momma basketball delivered her boy to the NBA when she passed (rest her soul), and I don't think he plans to fail. In terms of drinking the Kool Aid on hope, I'm hoping SJ will mesh well with his teammates and just play the steady, heady game that we have seen so far, and that includes considerably better shooting ability than advertised. I'm hoping that SJ, AD, and RJ develop a great chemistry and create one of those "critical mass," "tipping point" moments when teams really become good. Of course, I'm also hoping that SVG's and JB's efforts to better balance the roster to the system also proves effective. Tmorgan is right, if even half your hopes come true they'll be in the playoffs for sure. Go Pistons (til the day I die)!

Detroit/Michigan