Update, 10:30 p.m. Tuesday: The Pistons beat the Hawks 106-94 in the season opener.
The journey back to the NBA Playoffs begins tonight. And it can’t come soon enough.
After a crash-and-burn season from the Tigers and the Lions already focused on the draft after less than half the year, the Pistons are called upon to return some optimism to our daily sporting lives.
Can this team be relevant again? Yes. With a competent man (Stan Van Gundy) in charge and a host of young talent still 25 and under, 2015-16 looks to be the perfect time for the Pistons franchise to jump back into the playoffs and onto the national basketball radar.
How will that happen? Let’s look at five important factors that could determine whether we hear “Deeeee-trrroitttt Basketballllll” from the Palace sound system in late April of 2016.
Can Reggie Jackson Become a Top-Flight NBA Point Guard?
You can talk about Andre Drummond’s evolving offensive game or the boundless energy from rookie Stanley Johnson, but this team will rise or fall largely based on the growth or lack thereof from Reggie Jackson. He signed a big extension to remain with the team for several years, appropriate because the team’s fortune will literally be in his hands.
Reggie Jackson
Jackson was good, not great during his 27 games with the Pistons last season. He showed the ability to score (18 PPG) and dish (9 APG), but his shot selection could be erratic and he turned the ball over entirely too much.
There is no reason Jackson can’t make the leap this year into becoming one of the league’s most potent lead guards. He’s big enough, at 6-3 and over 200 pounds, he’s young but not too young (25 years old), and entering his fifth pro season, he’s been around the block enough times to where nothing should faze him. He clamored for more responsibility, more playing time, more everything while with Oklahoma City.
Well, now he’s got it all. The time has come to take that bravado and convert it into on-court production every single night.
The Pistons have some depth and are not a team relying solely on one guy to do it all. But make no mistake -- Reggie Jackson will be the one manning the engine that either allows this team to motor on through to the postseason or come puttering in again with less than 30 wins.
Can the Bench Be a Factor?
When the Pistons were the crown jewel of the Eastern Conference from 2002-2008, it was in large part because of the excellent play from the bench. Guys like Corliss Williamson, Jon Barry, Mehmet Okur, Antonio McDyess and Elden Campbell played huge roles for some very good teams. That juice from the reserves hasn’t really been felt in a while, but this year could finally see the bench become a factor again.
Jodie Meeks and Anthony Tolliver are both excellent long-range shooters. Meeks can sometimes be a bit one-dimensional and Tolliver is undersized at power forward, but as long as both guys are knocking down treys somewhere near 40%, they’ll become a lethal duo that opposing teams will fear on a nightly basis. Bonus points to Tolliver for perfecting the knee-high socks look, a fashion plus that hasn’t really been seen around here in some time.
Steve Blake will hold down the fort in the backup point guard role, and while he’s anything but young and spritely at the age of 35, he’ll bring a veteran calm and some outside shooting to a position that hasn’t had value for a few years now.
Aron Baynes was brought over from San Antonio mostly for his sheer bulk, 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds, but also, interestingly enough, to provide Van Gundy a late-game option on offense if teams start hacking Drummond. When Baynes was signed, Van Gundy made a point of acknowledging Baynes’ career 85%-mark at the free throw line, a healthy change from the high-30s of Drum-Squad. It’s not often you need to sign a player specifically for the purpose of subbing out your franchise player at the game’s biggest moments, but until Drummond can figure out a way to at least bump that FT number to something a little more respectable, it’s a move Van Gundy had to make.
Can Stanley Johnson Make a Significant Impact at Age 19?
If this was 25 years ago, the thought of a player still in his teens playing big minutes for a playoff team would have been a laughable proposition. But in today’s world, where players routinely stop off for just one year of college ball before hopping to the big time, such contributions are almost expected.
From a physical standpoint, Johnson need not worry. He’s 6’7” and almost 250 pounds -- nobody’s going to bully him around the court. But as far as his skills are concerned and whether they are NBA-ready, that’s a question that remains unanswered.
His outside shooting is something that will be watched closely. It was considered a bit of a weakness on draft night, and while he connected on about 36% from 3 during the exhibition slate, the regular season is a different animal. His almost 90% from the charity stripe during the pre-season is a very encouraging statistic, especially for a guy that likes to mix it up and force contact when around the basket.
Coach Stan has decided to bring Rookie Stan off the bench to start the year, and that is probably the right move. Let Johnson observe the game for a little, see the flow and rhythm, then enter the fray with veterans like Meeks and Blake alongside. But if Johnson pops out of the gate with real electricity and starter Marcus Morris falters, Van Gundy should waste no time in elevating Johnson to the top unit.
The athleticism and defensive grit on the part of Johnson should enable him to get plenty of crunch-time minutes, whether he begins the game as a starter or substitute. When the Pistons need to stop a guy like James Harden or Jimmy Butler in the closing seconds, look for Johnson to get the call defensively -- even if he isn’t yet old enough to enjoy a celebratory post-game brew.
Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: How Good Are They?
Andre Drummond/ AP photo
In 2012, the Pistons used the ninth overall selection on Andre Drummond. The very next year, they snapped up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at number eight.
Back-to-back lottery picks, both 22 years old entering this season, both extremely eager to experience their first taste of playoff basketball. That fate will rest largely on their collective shoulders.
Drummond’s story is a familiar one. He enters 2015-16 as a rebounding demon, a ferocious dunker, but still a man searching for an identity on the offensive end of the floor. Rumor has it that the big fella worked on an array of low-post moves over the summer. If such tales are true, Drummond will be a dominant player in the league.
As of now, he’s still too similar to Ben Wallace in that the team is at times playing 4-on-5 on offense, leading to extended dry spells. The Pistons have more or less pledged north of $100 million to Drummond next off-season, but you rest a bit easier knowing that such critical franchise money is going to a guy that provides genuine impact on both sides of the ball.
KCP is in search of a consistent outside shot and a more creative nickname. He’s still too much of a streak-shooter, as likely to sink three or four in a row as he is to clank 17 or 18 straight over a two-week stretch.
Also, calling a guy by his initials is a played-out routine at this point. Once Austin Jackson became “A-Jax,” I think we all realized it was time to move on.
So let’s get this high-flying guard a real moniker, even if it’s something simple like the Pope-Mobile. Or Clark Kent. You could even just tag him with something that sounds cool, but has little relevance to his game, like “Bookworm” or “Flavored Crust.” Make it happen!
Can The Palace Get Loud for the First Time in a Long Time?
Ever since the salad days of Chauncey and Rip and Rasheed drifted into the rearview, the Palace of Auburn Hills has turned into a funeral hall: very few guests, not much noise, and little to get excited about.
If you do decide to head up to a game, it’s probably because you were gifted free tickets or just desperately wanted to see that routine when the gymnasts and Hooper fly back and forth on the court using trampolines to throw down ridiculous alley-oops. But you probably weren’t just going for the purpose of watching basketball. And in all fairness, there hasn’t been reason to.
Even my friend Stankus, probably the most die-hard of Stones’ supporters, has seen his live hoops intake decrease over the last few years. And this is a guy that watches pre-season games online and is thinking about naming his first son Abdenour. Stankus has tickets for the home opener tomorrow against Utah, and it’s imperative the Pistons put on a quality show to ensure he and others like him return to Auburn Hills in the weeks and months to follow.
The Palace is an older building now by current professional sports standards. It’s nearing 30 years of age (which seems very hard to believe), but it still holds up pretty nicely. Fans aren’t staying away because the arena isn’t flashy enough. They’ve just been waiting for something that’s worth watching.
When it’s the middle of January and it’s 12 degrees out, it takes quite a bit of effort to get bundled up and fight traffic to indulge in Hornets-Pistons on a Wednesday night. The only thing that guarantees such fan sacrifice is to put a winning team on the floor.
The state of Michigan has been without playoff hoops for six years now, an eternity in a league where 16 of 30 clubs earn qualification. There is enough talent, enough depth on this roster, enough experience in the coaching department, for that unattractive streak to finally see its end.
The journey begins tonight in Atlanta and then continues on for 81 more games.
Here’s hoping a few more dates get tacked on to that schedule come next spring.
