It’s about a third of the way into the season and the Pistons are sitting at 12-21 (11th place in the East). The season has been disappointing to say the least. A lot of the team has been injured and losses are piling up. Understandably, fans are upset and desperately want change. However, change may not be the solution to the problem, especially if that change involves massive trades or a “resetting” of the roster.
The Elephant in the Room is the Reason Your Team Sucks
Injuries. It’s an inevitability in sports. Quite a few teams are currently reeling from injuries to significant players, namely Golden State, Portland, and Chicago. Detroit unfortunately got the luck (unluck?) of the draw and has had injuries hit Blake Griffin, Luke Kennard, Reggie Jackson, Derrick Rose, Markieff Morris, Christian Wood, and Tim Frazier over the course of the season so far. To say this team sucks…ehhh…a bit misleading. Yes, the team has had poor play because of injuries, but because there have been injuries since the beginning of the season, there’s no way to tell if this team genuinely doesn’t play well when healthy. The healthiest this team has been was the first game of the season against Indiana, and the stretch when Blake came back and looked pretty good. If we’re judging by those games, then there’s a lot of optimism to be had for a healthy Pistons team. That’s literally the reason this team has played so poorly: unfortunately timed injuries. Not because of drama, or chemistry issues, or lack of talent. This team is built to handle a less than stellar Blake, or a significant injured player, not multiple at the same time. Give it some time. I figure early January is when this team will be at it’s healthiest all season. Even if Blake isn’t 100%, at least he has a healthy team around him to do damage. And maybe it isn’t a good idea to offload the whole team because of this reason. Otherwise…
The Mediocrity Wheel Keeps On Turning
There’s a difference between a team having mediocre talent and a team that is mediocre/bad because of injuries. The Pistons, so far this season, are the latter. To sell low on any current assets means two things:
- You will likely have to attach a pick to Blake/Reggie/Derrick because they appear less desirable because of the team’s performance
- If you attach a first round pick, you then have to replenish players via free agency if you wish to remain competitive. 8 years of Joe Dumars and Stan Van Gundy should’ve told you that is not how you build a team.
Selling off a bunch of talent at a low price sets the Pistons back 2 or 3 seasons in terms of actually competing. We’re only 33 games into this revamped roster from last year, and less than two seasons into the Blake Griffin experiment. Give it some time. Yeah it’s annoying to have another disappointing season, but once again, this was due to lack of health, not lack of talent. Which brings me to my next point…
Lighten Up, Will Ya?
Looking for optimism across the Pistons’ fanbase is like trying to look at LeBron’s hairline. You end up frustrated, disgusted, and your eyes start to water.
All jokes aside, let’s put some positivity out there. Because of these injuries, the young guys have been able to get some more playing time. Bruce Brown, Svi Mykhailiuk, Thon Maker and Christian Wood have all had chances to show what they can do when given the chance and get more experience. Yes, we all want Sekou to play more, but I trust Casey has a plan and will give Sekou time when he has earned it.
Let’s assume the worst and say the Pistons don’t make the playoffs due to their injury woes. That means lottery time! Now, the lottery doesn’t solve everything, but it does give the Pistons a chance to sign a young, high-upside pick with immediate talent.
It’s one thing if this team was fully healthy and had the same record it does now, but that’s not the case. This team is in the exact same boat as Portland, another team that was expected to do well this season but marred by injuries. Let’s give this team some time and patience, then we’ll really see what this Pistons team is truly capable of.
Piston Territory 