17. Detroit Pistons
Starters – Reggie Jackson, KCP, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris, Andre Drummond
Bench – Ish Smith, Reggie Bullock, Stanley Johnson, Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic
Ah, the Pistons. Their engines started to really run last season as they earned an 8th seed only to be swept by the eventual NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Nothing to be ashamed of despite the disappointing end to the season, but it does offer something the city of Detroit has lacked a bit of in recent years – hope.
Reggie Jackson put his play where his money was (or something like that) last season, and was electrifying.
KCP continued to be a steady presence, slowly but surely becoming a 3-and-D 2 guard, a rare(r) occurrence at the position.
Marcus Morris was a fantastic acquisition and offered head coach Stan Van Gundy offensive and defensive versatility.
Tobias Harris was an incredible pickup and robbery as he went on to put up great numbers as he continued to be one of the most underrated players in the NBA.
Andre Drummond was yet again the double-double machine he is.
The thing that undermined the Pistons last season was their porous bench play, which they more than shored up this offseason.
Ish Smith provides a massive upgrade at the backup PG spot (sorry Steve Blake, still love ya) and will be able to set up newly acquired (college standout but hasn’t gotten consist playing time) sharpshooter Reggie Bullock and stretch-4 Jon Leuer.
If Smith doesn’t want to kick it out for 3, he can run a PnR with Boban the Behemoth (look up the size of his hands), or oop it to former lottery selection Stanley Johnson. Eventually I see Johnson moving into the starting 5, and Morris to the bench, but for now this will most likely be what the depth chart looks like at the beginning of the season.
The Pistons will look to continue to build upon their strong play last season, but will actually have a serviceable bench unit to do so.
Next: No. 16