New season outlook: Can the Pistons make the top four?

As a young team in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons ushered in the biggest improvement in the league last season, and compared with the reinforcement operations of other teams, the Pistons' success is more due to the team's general manager Traja Langton.

Faced with a dismal record and a chaotic lineup, Langton won forward Tobias Harris, scorer Hardaway Jr. and Mike Beasley in the free market and trading market, and then recruited point guard Schroder before the trade ended. From the subsequent perspective, these are qualified and high-quality and rich game experience Mesozoic combat power rotations.

Among these people, except for Harris, they all face the issue of renewal. The first choice to renew the contract is Beasley, a shooter who has played for his career, and he scored more than 300 three-pointers as a substitute. Although the defensive end is not ideal, the game is in a positive state. As the team's second scorer, he relied on outside firepower many times to help the team reverse successfully.

In early offseason interviews, he also publicly stated many times that he would be willing to stay in Detroit for a long time. The renewal progress between the two parties has been normal. However, before signing the contract, it was suddenly reported that the prosecutor Beasley was investigated for gambling, and then there were serious financial problems. In the end, the Pistons were afraid to sign a contract with Beasley, who was trapped in the storm. It may only take until all the disputes off the court are handled before a team will be willing to take over.

Founding shooting guard Hardaway Jr. chose to join the Nuggets with a basic salary. Judging from last season, although the shooting feels unstable, the three-point shooting percentage of the whole season is still 38.6% higher than the league average. The defense is not good, but he is very good at creating fouls to make up for some shortcomings.

The key point is that Hardaway Jr. and Beasley were the top two players in the Pistons' three-point shooting last season. The combined number of three-point shootings of the two was nearly half of the team. The team lost two major shooters at one time, and the lack of offensive firepower in this part is still quite serious.

The main substitute point guard Schroder switched to the King because the price code was not negotiated. Judging from last season, Schroeder's tactical position in the Pistons is quite important. Since Ivey's downfall, Schroeder has become the only ball-holding point for the Pistons except Cunningham. Although the size of the defensive end is not advantageous, he can continue to use his agility and good judgment to oppress the opponent's ball-holder. He is also the main defense of the Knicks main player Brunson in the playoffs. The offensive end mainly leads the substitute lineup to attack, and can also partner with ace Cunningham to play and share organizational tasks. The starting substitute role can be appropriately played, and there will be no complaints about the ball rights and team positioning on the field, providing the Pistons with sufficient scheduling flexibility in lineup rotation.

The above three players are all backcourt players. Judging from the loss part, the focus of the Pistons during the offseason is to make up for the three-point firepower and ball-holding ability. Chaz Lanier, the scorer in the second round, was selected in the draft. The new season should start in the Development League, and it is not yet stable in the current stage.

In contrast, Dennis Jenkins, who was signed with a two-way contract last year, performed well in the summer League, both scoring and controlling the ball, and was stable enough on the defensive end. In the new season, there should be a chance to become a backcourt to supplement combat power and also gain a stable playing time. In addition, the Pistons also signed large swingman LeVer in the free market, signing first and then exchanged for Heat shooter Dunro, and signing engineer forward Javent Green. After strengthening, the Pistons' lineup is basically close to full.

For Leville, who is about to be 31 years old, he mainly served as substitutes in the Cavaliers and the Hawks last season. After moving to the Hawks, he averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. With good individual offensive ability, he can also serve as a transfer setter; his shortcomings lie in his scoring ability and his three-point outside line are not stable. The defensive part is quite qualified, and the body size is not enough to become the target of the shortcoming target. It is expected to take over the position of Beasley's substitute scorer in the new season.

During the Cavaliers' era, Leville and Pistons coach Bickstaff worked for three years, which is also an advantage that will benefit the two's future partnership. Previously, Leville mentioned in an interview that Bickstaff had been strictly demanding defense for himself for three years, making himself a comprehensive player with qualified offense and defense. Compared with Beasley, although Leville lacks offense and firepower, at least the offense and defense ends can be more balanced.

As for Dunrow, as the Heat's shooter, he worked as a teammate with Leville at the University of Michigan. The biggest advantage lies in the outside three-pointers, with a career three-point shooting percentage of up to 39.7%, and more than 80% of the shots come from three-pointers. He is good at running and taking action after playing, and can use his attractiveness to serve as offensive bait. In the past two years, he has also developed good passes and ball-holding breakthrough skills. But based on the disadvantages of the defensive end, the new season will probably start from the substitute lineup.

Plus Harris, who stayed in the team, is one year older in the new season. Just in terms of lineup combat power, the loss of power in the Pistons this offseason is still quite obvious. Therefore, the success or failure of next season mainly comes from the growth of young players. Especially Jaden Ivey, Jalen Durham, Osal and Holland, who are still in the rookie contract stage.

Durm and Ivey, who are in the 22nd echelon, have not signed a renewal with the Pistons yet, and the team should still be evaluating the value of the two. Durham has not developed stable shooting ability at this stage, but the most criticized defense has made significant progress with the progress of the season. The ability to support the ball in the high-level area has also begun to show that it is no longer just a single inside line that relies on rebounds.

But on the other hand, centers who are not good at defense and cannot shoot are really difficult to use, and shooting development seems to have to wait; even if the ability to handle the air is unmatched, the basic balance of players in the penalty area is still in defense and pass support. Durham needs to bear the banner of the penalty area at this stage, and more progress is needed in the future.

In comparison, Durham can at least start stably, while Ivy is even more lucky. The previous year was served as a substitute by Monty. He finally got back to the starting position and made significant progress in shooting and defense, but he was accidentally injured and missed his first playoff appearance.

If Ivy's condition before the injury was not a flash in the pan, then his physical fitness was excellent, able to break through, shoot, and can defend his opponent's backcourt scorer, is a very suitable backcourt partner for Cunningham. Unfortunately, it still needs to be tested after being injured, and it will take more time to prove it in the new season.

As for Osal and Holland on the flank position, they are the types where defense is greater than offense. Osal was once regarded as a top defensive lock at the Leonard level, and the main problem was the offense. The shooting progress is slow, and he occasionally makes three-pointers in big open positions in rookie years, but he completely loses his three-point ability last season.

As the one who was considered to be the better shooting ability of the twins before entering the NBA, he has made almost no progress in the past two years. Compared with his brother Amen, he has been able to shoot stably at mid-range and occasionally shoot three-pointers. The two brothers' shootings have shown the opposite trend after entering the league, which is a bit surprising.

Finally, Ron Holland, after a year of training in the Development League, started a new start and relied on defensive fighting to gradually find the team's position. He played 81 games in the regular season and played 5 games in the playoffs, which is already the main rotation of the Pistons. It was just a top performance in Xia Lian before. The most surprising thing is that the progress on the shooting end is obvious enough, and it is not just based on physical strength to play. However, compared with the NBA, the intensity of the summer league is quite different, and the true level needs to be confirmed until the regular season.

Combined with the above, it is obvious that external firepower will be the key to the success or failure of the piston. But shooting ability is not something that can be improved overnight. Cunningham, who developed the shooting in college, took four seasons to hit 3-pointers back to the league average. Young player Ivy made significant progress in shooting last season, and Holland also saw growth in Summer United. When the new members obviously cannot make up for the two major shooters leaving the team last season, and Osar and Holland in the wing positions need to provide some compensation in the new season.

Referring to the market dilemma of restricted free agents this summer, under the structure of the new labor-capital agreement, Durham and Ivey should tend to renew contracts with the Pistons to avoid falling into dilemmas such as Kumingga and Josh Giddy, but the focus is still on the conditions for renewal.

Three star players in the Eastern Conference suffered major Achilles tendon injuries last season, namely Celtics forward Tatum, Pacers defender Halliburton, and Bucks defender Lillard. After the three stars lost their combat power, the new season will definitely lead to a major reshuffle of the Eastern Conference's combat power.

According to the Eastern Conference combat power rankings released by the official NBA website, the top three are the Cavaliers, the Knicks, and the Magic, while the Pistons rank fourth.

Based on this ranking, I personally think it is still too optimistic. The Pistons' external firepower decline in the new season is inevitable, and the vitality effect brought by Bickstaff will gradually decrease as the lineup is running-in. On the contrary, it is more difficult for young players to master the progress of the off-season. The reason why the Pistons' ranking is high is mainly due to the relatively good health of the team.

And as for whether young players can develop outside lines? Can the team maintain stable defensive energy? Everything needs to be answered until training camp, warm-up match or even regular season stages.