The Detroit Pistons earned the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference a year ago, and the expectation was they would be in the hunt for a similar spot this year, pending the health of their star forward Blake Griffin.
Through 33 games, they’re a dismal 12-21, but thanks to the horrendous play of the bottom half of the East, that puts them just 2.5 games back of the Magic in that eighth spot. A playoff run still could be in the works in Detroit, but to make that happen they desperately need a few things to happen, which brings us to our latest edition of our Holiday Wishlist series. This time we’re checking in on the Motor City, where the Pistons need their star to look like a star, and serious help in the backcourt.
#1: The return of 2018-19 Blake Griffin
Griffin missed the start of the season rehabbing from his meniscus tear suffered at the end of last season, and has not found his way back into form. He’s averaging just 15.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game on a 35.2/24.3/77.6 shooting split, which indicates he’s simply not right. Last year he was quietly one of the best players in the NBA, all but carrying this Pistons team to the playoffs. This year, he’s off and the result has been the Pistons struggling to make up for his lack of production. If Detroit has any hope of a playoff run, they’ll need Griffin to regain some of the form that made him so dominant a year ago.
#2: Guard help
Compounding Griffin’s struggles is the fact that they have such poor guard depth on the roster. Reggie Jackson has only played two games, and in his stead, Bruce Brown and Derrick Rose have been their primary point guards. Rose has been the best of the two, averaging 16.7 points and 5.9 assists per game (second and first on the team, respectively), continuing to play well in embracing the sixth man role he took on a year ago in Minnesota. The problem is, Rose’s productivity has tended to wane the longer he has to play, which isn’t tremendously surprising for someone with his injury history.
When Rose is off the floor, things are pretty bleak in the backcourt, and while Jackson’s return may help some, they are surely going to have to survey the trade market for help. Whether that means chasing a bigger name like Goran Dragic from Miami or looking to simply bolster their depth with a lesser move, that figures to be the top priority for the front office this trade season.
#3: Health
Everyone wants this, but the Pistons injury report is brutal right now. When you factor in Griffin still not seeming right, coupled with Jackson’s absence and Luke Kennard being hurt and taking away a key floor spacer, this is a team that desperately needs to get healthy to be able to even evaluate what they have and what they should be this season.
