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Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 4:53 am
by bstein14
Pistons have been about as average as you can be on offense and defense. Slightly below average on offense and slightly above on defense.
Magic have been really good defensively lately.
Portland has been horrible lately.
Boston elite on offense and defense in their last 15 games.
I think we're a slightly below .500 team next year if we can carry this momentum over, even without any big moves.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 5:31 am
by Cowology
bstein14 wrote:Pistons have been about as average as you can be on offense and defense. Slightly below average on offense and slightly above on defense.
Magic have been really good defensively lately.
Portland has been horrible lately.
Boston elite on offense and defense in their last 15 games.
I think we're a slightly below .500 team next year if we can carry this momentum over, even without any big moves.
Boston recently became my pick to come out of the East. They've been smothering teams defensively and Tatum has been consistently putting up 30-35 ppg. Nobody has been able to slow him down. I really like what they are doing as a team. Obviously you've still got the defending champs and with Irving now eligible to play all their games it's not exactly an easy path, so it's still kind of a toss up. But the Nets defense is not even close, MIA is melting down and the Bucks just aren't playing as well at either end of the floor. The Celts remind me a bit of some of the grindier & more balanced teams from the early 2000's Nets/Pistons/Pacers style. They are going to wear teams down over a 7 game series and keep coming at you in waves.
As far as the Pistons go this is what I posted about a week ago;
Cowology wrote:We are 7-7 over our last 14 games. Our PPG has moved from less than 103 ppg (dead last) to about 110 ppg (league average). That may not sound like much, but it's actually a huge deal. Our PPG differential has gone from being over 8 to about 2 ppg. And every single one of those 7 losses was decided in the 4th quarter. This is how we looked after 3Q's in each of those losses...
Up 91 to 84 vs. CHI (lost by 6)
Up 72 to 70 vs. LAC (lost by 4)
Up 73 to 68 vs. MIA (lost by 7)
Down 81 to 82 vs. CLE (lost by 4)
Down 85 to 87 vs. WAS (lost by 3)
Up 82 to 78 vs. BOS (lost by 9)
Down 90 to 92 vs. BOS (lost by 11
We were in every single one of those games. Either up or down by 2 or less heading into the 4th. It's not surprising that a young team would struggle to close games, but I don't think it's fair to point out how close our W's were without doing the same for our losses. These are not blowouts. Even games where we've been severely short-handed we are making teams earn it. While Casey runs out his terrible tank-a-thon lineups. And winning 50% of those close games isn't too shabby.
I don't think it's crazy to say we could actually have at least another pair of wins if Casey wasn't deliberately trotting out some garbage lineups and holding out players who would otherwise be suited up. We've got a stealth-tank going and are STILL almost winning.
And this while missing Stewart for a handful of games. Cade & Grant have both missed games. We played without Hayes/Diallo, benched CoJo/Olynyk and trotted out Lee/Garza/Pickett and now Key. And we're still *almost* winning games.
This team is MUCH better than it's record and would be winning games right now if we weren't deliberately tanking (as we should be). There are still waaaay too many variables to predict next season, but you have to feel good about our potential. Every loss feels like a "good tank Loss" as opposed to just ugly/bad losses. Positives to take away from each game.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 1:34 pm
by Piston Pete
Add a lottery pick to the mix, maybe a FA signing or two, and I think we will be in playoff contention next season.
This is a very big offseason for Weaver.
1) who do we go after in free agency?
2) what do we do with Grant?
3) do we make big moves or moves to slow-play the rebuild?
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 2:02 pm
by kpt
Piston Pete wrote:Add a lottery pick to the mix, maybe a FA signing or two, and I think we will be in playoff contention next season.
This is a very big offseason for Weaver.
1) who do we go after in free agency?
2) what do we do with Grant?
3) do we make big moves or moves to slow-play the rebuild?
We go after Ayton and Bridges. If not available the be patient no need to spend money just bc we have it.
If there is a deal out there that meets our asking price or above we take it.
Depends on what Is given to us. We are in a good spot if we are smart.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 2:32 pm
by Piston Pete
kpt wrote:Piston Pete wrote:Add a lottery pick to the mix, maybe a FA signing or two, and I think we will be in playoff contention next season.
This is a very big offseason for Weaver.
1) who do we go after in free agency?
2) what do we do with Grant?
3) do we make big moves or moves to slow-play the rebuild?
We go after Ayton and Bridges. If not available the be patient no need to spend money just bc we have it.
If there is a deal out there that meets our asking price or above we take it.
Depends on what Is given to us. We are in a good spot
if we are smart.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 2:59 pm
by vege
That's why I've been sayig for a while now, if Weaver play his hand right, we will be good next season. Cade will improve. Bey COULD improve.
If we add 2 above average starters (Mitchell Robinson and a guard for example) and if Cade become an above average starter, we are a playoff team with a lot of room to grow from there.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 3:08 pm
by flow
Twolves, baby!
I nominated Chris Finch as a desirable dark horse for our coaching vacancy back in 2018. Now, a year into becoming Minny's coach, he's orchestrating a remarkable turnaround. COY-worthy, without question.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2022 3:43 pm
by Kalamazoo317
I think if we took our current roster, added a good amount of luck with health and natural improvements, and hit on our first round pick, there's no reason we shouldn't play .500 ball or better next year. No idea how many of those things (if any) will happen.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 2:21 am
by Cowology
We're now 11-11 in our last 22 games. Which is kinda crazy considering the lineups we've been rolling out there. We were 12-45 prior to that. The league still hasn't really taken notice, but we could very well be next years Cavs. It's kinda ridiculous how anxious I am for the lottery. And the draft. And FA. And training camp. This offseason is going to feel soooooo long. I just wanna know what our roster will look like come opening day and that's still 6+ months away.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 2:26 am
by breezypeezy
It is really exciting seeing the turnaround post All Star break.
This team starts next year with anything but a lottery team mentality. They are going to compete 48 minutes night in and out.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 8:39 am
by Pharaoh
And the optimism begins again
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Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 12:25 pm
by Manocad
Cast your mind back five months...it's the beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season, and Pistons fans have seen enough from Cade Cunningham to believe he's a future star. When considering some expected growth from Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, and Isaiah Stewart combined with the 20+ PPG that Jerami Grant provides, some Pistons fans speculate that the team has potential to be a .500 team and challenge for a playoff spot, and at the least should win 30-35 games.
Then injuries set in. Bey has a horrible start, Hayes still can't score, and Stew looks about the same. The team loses...a lot. Some Pistons fans ridicule the notion that this team had any potential to be a .500 team and call for Weaver's head, saying he's managed to build a team that is worse than last year's team. The entire roster outside of Cade should be traded, they say.
And then that expected growth happens. Hayes moves to the bench and starts to produce, Bey starts to shoot like he can, Cade continues to play at a near star level, Stew continues to be Stew--not great but certainly a nice piece--Bagley comes along...and here we are.
The lesson learned here is patience. These things take time to develop; sometimes it's a quick process and sometimes it isn't, but you have to give it time. As far as how to accurately judge potential...well, let's just say some people are better at it than others.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 1:13 pm
by NYPiston
Cowology wrote:We're now 11-11 in our last 22 games. Which is kinda crazy considering the lineups we've been rolling out there. We were 12-45 prior to that. The league still hasn't really taken notice, but we could very well be next years Cavs. It's kinda ridiculous how anxious I am for the lottery. And the draft. And FA. And training camp. This offseason is going to feel soooooo long. I just wanna know what our roster will look like come opening day and that's still 6+ months away.
A lot will depend on what they do this offseason but I could also see a Cavs like jump.
Think about how active this offseason could be. The draft, plenty of cap space now that a lot of the SVG stink is coming off the books, the Grant and Bagley decisions. On a lesser scale, I doubt that both Olynyk and CoJo will be here.
It's a critical offseason where winning will start to be an objective especially with the young core still on their cheap rookie contracts and being able to use that to their advantage in a cap sense. I'd be curious to see how serious Weaver is about fielding a serious roster next season or if he will continue with the slow build because he'll have the resources to vault this team into play in contention, at minimum. Exciting times ahead, either way.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 1:46 pm
by bstein14
Obviously a lot will depend on the draft, trades, and FA... as well as how our young guys improve internally. That said, when you look at the top of the East its hard to see which top 10 team falls out next year. I think we're in a position where we could jump teams like Indy, New York, and Washington but its hard for me to see us being better than teams like Atlanta, Charlotte, Toronto, Cleveland, etc.
Right now I'd predict about 36-38 wins for us but of course a ton will change and its way too early.
Last year I predicted we'd win 30-32 games this season and we obviously fell well short of that win total this season.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 3:35 pm
by Manocad
NYPiston wrote:Cowology wrote:We're now 11-11 in our last 22 games. Which is kinda crazy considering the lineups we've been rolling out there. We were 12-45 prior to that. The league still hasn't really taken notice, but we could very well be next years Cavs. It's kinda ridiculous how anxious I am for the lottery. And the draft. And FA. And training camp. This offseason is going to feel soooooo long. I just wanna know what our roster will look like come opening day and that's still 6+ months away.
A lot will depend on what they do this offseason but I could also see a Cavs like jump.
Think about how active this offseason could be. The draft, plenty of cap space now that a lot of the SVG stink is coming off the books, the Grant and Bagley decisions. On a lesser scale, I doubt that both Olynyk and CoJo will be here.
It's a critical offseason where winning will start to be an objective especially with the young core still on their cheap rookie contracts and being able to use that to their advantage in a cap sense. I'd be curious to see how serious Weaver is about fielding a serious roster next season or if he will continue with the slow build because he'll have the resources to vault this team into play in contention, at minimum. Exciting times ahead, either way.
Weaver did explicitly say that there was "no reason to fast track it" relative to this offseason, i.e. it's not an automatic push all-in. Now, that's not to say that it won't happen if all the chips fall in place, only that IMO he clearly means he'll take another year if that looks like the right thing to do.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 3:37 pm
by Manocad
bstein14 wrote:Obviously a lot will depend on the draft, trades, and FA... as well as how our young guys improve internally. That said, when you look at the top of the East its hard to see which top 10 team falls out next year. I think we're in a position where we could jump teams like Indy, New York, and Washington but its hard for me to see us being better than teams like Atlanta, Charlotte, Toronto, Cleveland, etc.
Right now I'd predict about 36-38 wins for us but of course a ton will change and its way too early.
Last year I predicted we'd win 30-32 games this season and we obviously fell well short of that win total this season.
If you take away Cade's and Grant's injuries plus the clear adoption of the tank, I think this team would have won that many games even with the slow start from Bey and Hayes not adding much until going to the bench.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 3:53 pm
by Cowology
Yeah we've had a number of things go wrong this season. But can you imagine how pissed all these people would be if we actually won 30-32 games? People losing their damn minds over us winning games 21, 22 & 23. We'd probably be looking at Cade running away with ROY and us picking somewhere between 7th-10th.
All things considered we're in a pretty good spot.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 4:01 pm
by Manocad
Cowology wrote:Yeah we've had a number of things go wrong this season. But can you imagine how pissed all these people would be if we actually won 30-32 games? People losing their damn minds over us winning games 21, 22 & 23. We'd probably be looking at Cade running away with ROY and us picking somewhere between 7th-10th.
All things considered we're in a pretty good spot.
For sure there is a faction of people here who believe the process is tank, tank, tank, tank, tank, championship, i.e. you lose as many as you can until you think the team is ready to win 60 games and go to the finals.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 4:49 pm
by Kalamazoo317
bstein14 wrote:Obviously a lot will depend on the draft, trades, and FA... as well as how our young guys improve internally. That said, when you look at the top of the East its hard to see which top 10 team falls out next year. I think we're in a position where we could jump teams like Indy, New York, and Washington but its hard for me to see us being better than teams like Atlanta, Charlotte, Toronto, Cleveland, etc.
Right now I'd predict about 36-38 wins for us but of course a ton will change and its way too early.
Last year I predicted we'd win 30-32 games this season and we obviously fell well short of that win total this season.
Atlanta has one good player. Charlotte has two. I'm not sure what Chicago did this year is super sustainable. Miami looks like it could implode at any time.
Re: Pistons are an average NBA team (the last 15 games)
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2022 5:17 pm
by vege
Kalamazoo317 wrote:bstein14 wrote:Obviously a lot will depend on the draft, trades, and FA... as well as how our young guys improve internally. That said, when you look at the top of the East its hard to see which top 10 team falls out next year. I think we're in a position where we could jump teams like Indy, New York, and Washington but its hard for me to see us being better than teams like Atlanta, Charlotte, Toronto, Cleveland, etc.
Right now I'd predict about 36-38 wins for us but of course a ton will change and its way too early.
Last year I predicted we'd win 30-32 games this season and we obviously fell well short of that win total this season.
Atlanta has one good player. Charlotte has two. I'm not sure what Chicago did this year is super sustainable. Miami looks like it could implode at any time.
Yeap, I don't think Atlanta or Charlotte are that good.
So we could at least jump Indy/Knicks/Washington/Atlanta/Charlotte, which means we could have a decent chance to get the #8 spot.