The fans responded.
Although the Detroit Pistons’ first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks went as expected – a dominating four-game sweep – the Little Caesars Arena crowd showed up for two home games.
LCA was alive with a sellout crowd for Saturday night’s 119-103 loss.
Monday night’s crowd was generously listed as a sellout for the 127-104 loss in the Bucks’ series clincher, but the atmosphere was great for an early-week game, nights where the Pistons’ traditionally struggle to draw a crowd.
The interest was a pleasant surprise given the Pistons finished last in percentage of tickets sold in one of the largest arenas in the NBA.
It was evidence that the market is starved for any spark of relevance from a scuffling franchise that’s lost 14 straight playoff games – the last victory coming in Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.
After a 41-41 record and barely reaching the playoffs behind All-Star Blake Griffin and center Andre Drummond, is there any reason to think this roster will improve?
There’s been talk from a vocal minority in the market that the Pistons would have been better off punting on the season and try to improve positioning for June’s NBA draft.
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That was never happening with this roster when frankly too many organizations had a head start on the race to the bottom.
But the crux of the tanking argument comes from a hard look at the Pistons’ reality.
There will be no salary cap space until 2020, limiting the avenues for immediate improvement.
Still paying for the roster sins of former team president Stan Van Gundy for probably one more season, how will things be better next season?
That’s the question looming over owner Tom Gores, vice chairman Arn Tellem and senior adviser Ed Stefanski.
Two mainstays?
Bucks center Brook Lopez snatched the offensive rebound, a major Pistons issue during the series.
Griffin, weary from playing on the sore left knee, moved to pick up Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He committed a hard foul as Antetokounmpo attempted a shot.
It was Griffin’s sixth foul of the game, an automatic disqualification.
Griffin walked slowly toward the Pistons bench at the opposite end of the floor.
The LCA crowd rose to give the star a standing ovation.
“MVP! MVP! MVP!” chants were heard.
It was a gutty effort for Griffin, who was effective in the two Pistons losses – despite being limited with a brace to protect his knee.
Griffin struggles over the last several weeks put a damper on a resurgent season that resulted in his sixth All-Star berth.
He’s remade his game, adding an adequate 3-point shot.
After a fully healthy offseason allowed him to expand his game, Griffin expressed confidence he can get better at the age of 30.
“As a player, there are always things you want to build up,” Griffin said. "This year I showed some different parts of my game, but there is still growth that I can do, especially getting a year under my belt under (Pistons) coach Dwane Casey and his staff and understanding our system a little better.
“It’ll be a long offseason again like last offseason, which is a good thing for me. I’ll be able to get in the gym and work and come back and be ready.”
And then there’s Drummond.
After Saturday’s performance where he was booed, fans were quick to forget his performance during the season’s second half when he was arguably the team’s best player.
Drummond role has expanded since his first playoff appearance in 2016 so he acknowledged the growing experience.
“I think we learned a lot from the series – how hard we need to play and how important every possession is on each end of the court, offensively and defensively,” Drummond said. “It’s a learning experience for us and we have a lot of work to do this summer. Guys will take care of themselves, work on their games and we’ll all come back ready for next season.”
Gores endorsed Drummond after the game.
“As far as Andre goes, he’s an underappreciated player,” Gores said. “I just think he is, so we have to regroup and see what we get right going forward.”
A long way to go
What can the Pistons do roster-wise to improve their record?
The options are limited.
The Pistons are high on youngsters Luke Kennard, Bruce Brown, Khyri Thomas and Svi Mykhailiuk.
Casey has stressed the importance of player development since he earned the job.
“This is going to be a huge summer for our development coaches and ourselves to develop the weaknesses of our players because we like to grow from within,” Casey said.
They are projected to be over the $109 million salary cap – although they will have the $9.2 million mid-level exception, as well as the $3.6 million biannual exception for free agency.
Nearly half of the players in the league will be free agents so the potential is there for bargain shopping.
The Pistons also have first- and second-round picks (15th and 45th overall).
The Pistons need playmakers on the perimeter to take the load off Griffin and Drummond.
They also need a point guard upgrade.
Reggie Jackson’s career appears to have plateaued after two injury-marred seasons, although he didn’t miss a game this season.
Rotation regular Ish Smith is a free agent.
The situation doesn’t exactly inspire hope.
Gores is pleased the team reached the playoffs, but acknowledged there is more work to do.
“We have to make more progress,” Gores said.” A lot of people talk about the idea of winning or losing — we want to win. This idea of what happens in the league and losing is going to be good for you, well that’s not going to be good for any of us. We just want to go and win — and we did.
Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @vincent_ellis56. Read more on the Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2019/04/23/detroit-pistons-roster-options-limited/3546693002/
2019-04-23 11:14:00Z
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