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Why the Detroit Pistons will make the playoffs
- Updated: November 10, 2017
Yes, it’s early, but Stan Van Gundy has this group playing well together. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
You could almost see this coming from the Detroit Pistons.
Stan Van Gundy isn’t the type of coach who takes to losing easily, and with the steadily-improving Tobias Harris, one of the best defensive guards in the league in Avery Bradley, and another year of improvement from the still just 24-year-old Andre Drummond, this team looks like the real deal.
At 8-3, the Pistons might be the league’s most pleasant surprise. Detroit owns wins over the Warriors in Oakland (115-107), the Clippers in L.A. (95-87), Minnesota and Milwaukee at home. They’ve won six of seven, and will host Atlanta on Friday night (should be another W).
Deeeee-troit Basketball is getting it done with defense. Of course a Stan Van team is going to be tough on defense, and these Pistons are, ranking 8th in points allowed.
But they’re also much-improved on offense, which is the primary reason for the turnaround.
The offensive uptick is thanks in large part to Tobias Harris, who’s become the go-to-scorer for this squad. He’s averaging a team-high 20 ppg and has dropped 34 on the Wolves and 27 on the Hornets this year.
Just check out his performance against the Pacers earlier this week:
His job description has been to get buckets (what a great job description), and that’s exactly what he’s doing, shooting at 43% from the field and a career-best 47% from three.
Detroit ranks 10th in the league in team field goal percentage, and 11th in three-point percentage.
Of course, a lot of the Pistons’ success will revolve around Drummond, who’s averaging 14 points and a gaudy 15 boards per game. His free throw numbers look like a typo, up to 63.8% thus far, from 38.6 last year.
They didn’t add much from a 37-win team in 2017, but after making the playoffs in 2016 (44 wins), this has the look of a bounce-back year for Detroit.
Stan Van Gundy always gets the most out of his talent, and this club has enough of it to stick around–and have a shot at winning a round come springtime.
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