Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond Is The Next Dwight Howard

As it turns out, I may have been terribly, terribly wrong about the Detroit Pistons. Three games is a very tiny sample size, and since Pistons fans should know better than to make any definitive statements about the team after it started 5-23 in 2013-14 only to play .500 basketball the rest of the way. But it appears Stan Van Gundy’s team is much better than we thought they’d be.

A quick look at the Eastern Conference standings reveals that the Pistons are a perfect 3-0 and sit atop the totem pole. That’s not going to last, but Detroit has looked impressive in victories over the Atlanta Hawks (the reigning No. 1 seed in the East), Utah Jazz (a projected playoff team in the loaded West) and Chicago Bulls (the general consensus top threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East).

There are plenty of things to like about this new Pistons team. Reggie Jackson is playing well-rounded, superb basketball in his first full season at the helm, Marcus Morris looks better than he ever did in Phoenix and Detroit is starting to look like a prototypical Stan Van Gundy team.

But the biggest piece of the puzzle has been Andre Drummond, who looks like he’s ready to make the leap now that Josh Smith and Greg Monroe are no longer clogging up the lane. These Pistons might not be the 2008-09 Orlando Magic team that went to the NBA Finals, but it’s starting to look like Drummond could be the next Dwight Howard as Van Gundy’s shiny new centerpiece.

Next: Drummond Showing Signs