Milwaukee Bucks: The Lowdown on The Central Division
By Adam Coffman
Detroit Pistons
2015-2016 Record: 44-38, 8th seed in playoffs
Key Losses: None
Key Additions: Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic, Henry Ellenson
The Pistons surprised many when they made the playoffs as an eighth seed in a much-improved Eastern Conference. This season they will not have the luxury of sneaking up on other teams, but Stan Van Gundy’s squad should be in good position to improve their standing once again.
Much like he did in Orlando with Dwight Howard years ago, Van Gundy is looking to build a four-out, one-in offensive system around a dominant center, in this case the Pistons’ Andre Drummond. The former UConn Husky, still just 23 years old, put up career numbers last season at 16.2 points, 14.8 rebounds (leading the league), 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.
To complement their big man, the Pistons project to start Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the backcourt, as well as Marcus Morris and former Buck Tobias Harris at the forward spots.
Caldwell-Pope may very well take the title for the league’s most underrated three-and-D wing, a list that certainly includes Milwaukee’s own Khris Middleton, while Morris and Harris are both versatile combo forwards with the ability to defend and stretch the floor as well.
No member of the starting lineup has been in the league longer than four years, and with a core seemingly locked in, the Pistons are in a very good position, much like the Bucks, of improving by way of individual growth and maturity of a young, partially homegrown core.
The Pistons also attacked their offseason much like the Bucks did, addressing role players in positions of need, and in Detroit’s case, resigning the restricted free agent Drummond to a max deal. Jon Leuer, formerly of the Suns, will give Van Gundy yet another stretch four to play with and replaces the departed Anthony Tolliver, while at the cheap price of $6 million per year, Boban Marjanovic should see opportunity behind Drummond to impose his will on opposing bench units much like he did in San Antonio.
Any look at the Pistons offseason has to conclude a net positive, and a playoff berth may now be an expectation, rather than a goal in Detroit. Both the Bucks and the Pistons are teams on an upturn, but in terms of putting talent together on the floor, the Pistons are simply further along the developmental track.
Next: Indiana Pacers