It's understandable that some may be disappointed in the Detroit Pistons' offseason. They didn't make the blockbuster move that many were hoping for. Besides turning Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart into Isaiah Joe and John Collins, the Pistons have only made moves on the margins.
However, this underwhelming offseason is leading to bizarre takes about how good the Pistons will be next season.
There is actually no real reason why the Pistons should perform any worse next year, especially in the regular season, than they did last year. Yet, Yahoo Sports senior writer Ben Rohrbach placed the Pistons eighth in his Eastern Conference power rankings this week.
In his write-up, he said that the Pistons are "among the teams to take a major step backward," and gave the loss of Stewart as a big reason why.
Pistons will still be one of the best teams in the East
Even if we assume that Detroit will regress next season, thinking that the departures of Harris and Stewart are going to make a 60-win team become a Play-In team is ludicrous.
Sure, the rest of the East will be better next season. Miami, Philadelphia, and Toronto have made big moves. Jayson Tatum will play a full season in Boston, and the Pacers will have Tyrese Haliburton back. Plus, due to the lottery reform, there will be less incentive to tank, which means that teams at the bottom of the conference will be much more competitive next season.
Despite all this, calling the Pistons severely underrated would be an understatement. People seem to have a difficult time comprehending how dominant Detroit was last season. They had the second-best defensive rating in the NBA and had a +8.8 net rating, only behind OKC and San Antonio. They did this with Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris both playing fewer than 65 games.
There has always been a tendency to underestimate teams that win with their defense. Fans and the media are drawn to offensive superstars and tend to overestimate how good their teams are. The Pistons are familiar with this, as they have been counted out time and time again in the early 2000s for the same reason.
The issue is, the Pistons do have a superstar. Getting excited about Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, or Jaylen Brown is understandable, but taking into account age, health, and availability, Cunningham is better than all of these players. He is arguably still the best player in the Eastern Conference.
The Pistons will most likely have the best defense in the East once again. They have a true MVP candidate in Cade, a ton of depth, young studs who can take a step forward, and familiarity. All three of their best players are at an age where they should continue to improve. They will also have more experience under their belt.
Detroit may not win 60 games next season. Maybe they won't be the No. 1 seed. Claiming that they are the eighth-best team in the East, however, is a deeply unserious idea.
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