Detroit Pistons: Five Predictions For The 2015-2016 NBA Season
The Detroit Pistons Will Break the .500 Mark and Make The Playoffs
Oct 23, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) high fives forward
Reggie Bullock(25) during the second quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
There’s no denying what a rough stretch it’s been for Pistons fans everywhere. After making six straight Eastern Conference Championships in the 2000’s, it’s been a bleak time for the last six years.
But this is the year that is all changes. No more are the times of Josh Smith, Ben Gordon, or Charlie Villanueva. The time is now for this Pistons team.
The team is young and its nucleus is composed of players that have tons of potential. With one of the best head coaches in the NBA in Van Gundy though, these players reaching their potential is much more likely.
It’s also Van Gundy’s second year at the helm of the Pistons. He’s shaped this team into one that he can work with. The only players that he has retained from the start of last season are Drummond, Caldwell-Pope, and Jennings.
The team is now the type of team that he can coach with no Smith to hold him back for the first 28 games of the season.
A little fun fact about a Smith-less Pistons? After he was released from the team, the Pistons went 27-27 the rest of the way. And that was with the losing streak right after Jackson came that was the transition period for the team.
With the current state of the weak Eastern Conference, the Pistons have a great chance of reaching the playoffs. Even a .500 record probably means better than the eight seed.
And with so many years of picking in the lottery of the NBA draft, the Pistons’ objective this year should be simply to win. There’s no point in all this young talent if you don’t do something with it.
For Van Gundy and company though, this year should and will be the talent that they do something with it.
Now, your thoughts. With the Pistons playing so soon what are your predictions? How do you think they will do at the end of the year? Whatever the case, there’s only so much losing the fan-base can take. But for the first time in years, the Pistons’ future looks bright.
Next: Detroit Pistons: Who Won the Trade of the Brandons?