In a city where each family is keeping their finances under a tight watch, it does not help things when the team’s product is below everyone’s standard. When that standard is just 16 months from a fifth straight visit to the Eastern Conference Finals, pretty much anything looks like it is not up to par. The Pistons spent the offseason attempting to get the team back to the postseason. If the final preseason, and first regular season games are any indication, this team may be destined for yet another long season.
A few months back I mentioned how much I disagreed with the drafting of Georgetown’s Greg Monroe. While my biased Syracuse viewpoint would make any Hoya out of contention, I had based that view from the entire draft board – the same one the Pistons had to look at and choose from. Greg Monroe, your first round draft pick, enjoyed the first regular season game on the bench.
In 2009-10, the Pistons were one of very few teams to lose to the lowly New Jersey Nets. This season, they became the first team to lose to those same Nets, repeatedly losing leads throughout the game. The 101-98 loss is alarming for both the opponent the Pistons faced and lost to, but also what this means to a team looking to move past last season. If the Pistons are to make a bigger leap this season, they’ll have to commit to a starting lineup and forget their past 83 games.