NBA: Can Dwane Casey improve the Pistons?
The Detroit Pistons are set to begin their first season under new head coach, Dwane Casey, who is fresh off of a Coach of the Year season with the Toronto Raptors. Toronto went 59-23 last season and were the top seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they were swept in the Second Round, and the organization decided to move on from Casey. Enter the Pistons. Detroit was 39-43 last year, and missed the playoffs by just four games. There are a lot of building blocks, though, and Detroit hopes Casey can bring out the best from this roster which includes Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, and more. The Pistons visited the University of Michigan a couple of weeks ago, for an open scrimmage, and these are my main takeaways.
Andre Drummond is ready to go: Andre Drummond seemed excited, healthy, and ready for the season to get going. Drummond had a really good season last year, averaging 15.0 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, but will have to continue to improve if the Pistons want to stay in contention in the East. There are a lot of open playoff spots in the Eastern Conference this year after LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, and it seems probable that Detroit snatches up one of those openings. If they do, it's going to be in part because of Drummond's improvement. He has reportedly been working on extending his range and becoming more consistent with free throw shooting. If he can do that, Detroit should win 40+ games.
The players seem to be energized by Casey's hire: There was a lot of energy in the building when the Pistons visited the Crisler Center. And I think that's in part due to the hiring of Casey. The players seem to respect him and want to play for him more than they did Stan Van Gundy (especially towards the end of last season). If you can energize and motivate your team, then half of the battle is over with. It looked as though Casey was able to do that. The Pistons open the season against the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. That's a pretty difficult stretch which will test the relationship between Casey and his players. If Detroit can sustain this energy, they might be a team to keep an eye on.
Photo Credit: Clutch Points.
