Detroit Pistons: 5 takeaways from the 2017-18 NBA season

2. This core needs to succeed urgently

It’s well known that the NBA is a star-driven league, and the Pistons have done a nice job of adjusting to fit that criteria. Reggie Jackson, although oft-injured, surely has flashed the potential to be a start point guard in this league, and Blake Griffin is about as proven of a star as any around the association.

However, the big focus that makes the Pistons interesting moving forward is Andre Drummond, who, despite being only elected to the All-Star game due to injuries, is still one of the league’s best centers. He improved on his Achilles heel, which was his free throw shooting, going from 38.6 percent to 60.5 percent at the charity stripe this year.

The good news is that despite missing the playoffs, the core should still feel good about its chances of prospering, as it has only played together at full health for a mere four games so far this season.

With the core at prime ages of 24 (Drummond), 27 (Jackson) and 29 (Griffin), next season will be the ultimate test of if this Detroit Pistons team can succeed as a star-based team. If not, it’s very likely Griffin will want to move on, so this core is definitely on the clock.