Detroit Pistons: Can They Make The Playoffs This Season?
By Austin Remo
The Detroit Pistons are playing some of the best basketball in the NBA right now despite dropping their most recent matchup on Wednesday night against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans. Their phenomenal win streak was snapped at seven games last Friday against one of the only teams playing better ball than them, the Atlanta Hawks.
It was still a very close game, but the Pistons fell just short by a score of 106-103. It was a bad way to end the streak, mainly because they were playing at home, where they have continued to struggle this season.
After their loss on Wednesday, they’re now holding a miserable record of 5-15 when they play at the Palace. On the road, the Pistons are a surprising 9-10.
The season is still fairly young, as they’ve played only 39 games, leaving more than half of the 2014-15 NBA schedule to be played. Of their 43 games remaining, 21 of them will come at home.
However, maybe it’s good they still have one more game on the road than at home when you look at their home and road records.
So I pose the question: Can the Detroit Pistons make the playoffs this season?
BREAKING IT DOWN
First of all, we of course have to remember the fact that the Pistons play in the Eastern Conference. It’s much weaker than the West, and it seems as if the bottom four seeds are all up for grabs.
Second of all, we also have to remember they have a great coach at the helm in Stan Van Gundy. In their recent surge after the release of Josh Smith, we’ve seen just what he can do when he’s got the right group of guys to run his offense.
As I said before, the Pistons are playing some of the best basketball in the league right now. In the past 10 games, their record of 8-2 is second to only the Atlanta Hawks’ 10-0 mark, and tied with Western Conference powerhouses in the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers.
I know, they did have wins over the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks during their recent win streak. But let’s not forget, that same streak consisted of wins on the road over the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks.
Then on Monday, Detroit handed the No.3 Toronto Raptors a 114-111 loss in Toronto, who are 16-5 at home this season.
Does that make you a believer of the Pistons in a seemingly wide open Eastern Conference?
CHANGES LOOMING FOR VAN GUNDY?
As far as their recent play and winning ways go, Van Gundy has recently shown some displeasure with his starting five despite being 9-2 in their last 11 games.
Here’s some of what Van Gundy had to say after their loss Wednesday night to the Pelicans, via Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:
"“We didn’t do anything well, we didn’t rebound, we didn’t protect the paint,” Pistons coach Van Gundy said. “Those were the big areas of emphasis. We brought absolutely no energy whatsoever to the game and that’s starting to be a trend. I don’t know how much longer we will go with that lineup. We’re having to dig out of holes every night. Those guys don’t bring a lot of energy to start the game. They’re usually OK in the third quarter, but we have to find somebody to energize that group.”"
When he mentions the fact the Pistons didn’t rebound, he was referring to their complete destruction on the boards by New Orleans, who out-rebounded them 47-30 on the night.
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And do you want to know how many boards third-year big man Andre Drummond had in the game?
Two.
If that’s not a lack of energy from one of your starters and best players, I don’t know what is.
SO, CAN THEY MAKE THE DANCE?
With the recent rejuvenation in Detroit, you might not notice the lack of energy from their starting five if it weren’t for Van Gundy’s comments.
When you combine the win streak of seven games and their 9-2 record since they waived Josh Smith, a lack of energy would seem to be the farthest thing from the mind when you talk about the Detroit Pistons.
But, here we are. They are playing good basketball and winning games against some good teams, but SVG still isn’t happy and might tweak some things with his lineup. These are all things that point to the belief that they could very well make the playoffs this season.
Let me first defend my statement by saying this: They play in the Eastern Conference.
Last season, the Hawks made the eighth seed in the East by finishing 38-44. That number could prove to be even higher than what it might take to make the final seed in the East this year.
If they’re shooting for the 38 wins from last season’s final playoff team, Detroit would have to go 24-19 in their remaining games, a mark that isn’t too ridiculous for this team if they continue to play like they have been in the past three weeks.
Before you agree or disagree on whether they can make the playoffs, let’s not forget it would more than likely be as the seventh or eighth seed. I’m not saying they’ll win a series or anything like that just yet, but I think they could limp in as a bottom seed. It’s the NBA, and anything can happen, especially in the East.
All stats via NBA.com.