SDH's 2013/2014 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 16. Detroit Pistons

+Detroit Pistons  Overall Win/Loss Record :  29-53,  fourth place Central Division	Last Season’s Rank 24	Projected 2013/2014 Finish 16
Last season’s Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 94.9 (22nd) Points Allowed: 98.8 (18th) Team FG%:  .449 (14th) Opponent’s FG%: .459 (21st) Team FT%: .699 (29th) Team Three Point FG%: .356 (18th) Rebounds per game: 42.1 (13th) Opponents rebounds per game: 41.8 (14th) Turnovers per game: 14.6 (23rd) Opponents turnovers per game: 13.1 (22nd)	Returning Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring (ppg): Greg Monroe (16.0) Rebounds per game:  Greg Monroe (9.6) Minutes per game: Greg Monroe (33.2) Assists per game: Will Bynum (3.6) Field Goal Percentage: Andre Drummond (.608) Free Throw Percentage:  Will Bynum (.810) Three Point FG Percentage: Kyle Singler (.350) Steals per game: Greg Monroe (1.3) Blocked Shots per game:  Andre Drummond (1.6)
Projected Starters Based on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact: C. Andre Drummond PF. Greg Monroe SF. Josh Smith SG. Kyle Singler PG. Brandon Jennings	Second Unit Roster Order Ranked on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact: G. +Chauncey Billups  F. +Jonas Jerebko  G. Rodney Stuckey G. Will Bynum F. Charlie Villanueva
Analysis: As their city falls into financial ruin after declaring bankruptcy just a few months prior, the denizens of Detroit have at least some good news for the upcoming months.  That is when they will see their Pistons finally end their five year playoff drought as they start their march back to respectability with a newly revamped roster. They began their remodeling project for the upcoming season by signing one the leagues most athletic and electrifying players in Josh Smith for five years giving the team and fans not only a explosive scorer but also one of the league best rim protectors and perimeter defenders to boot.  Pistons GM Joe Dumars also went about acquiring what his team has been missing for years and has tried to acquire via the draft or develop only to have it blow up in his--that of a true point guard who actually will PASS the ball and get his teammates involves.  Dumars first accomplished this task early in the off season by acquiring a treasure of the Pistons' glory years in Chauncey Billups, who led the Pistons to two straight +NBA Finals and one NBA Championship.  Many have questioned whether Billups still has anything left in his 36 year old body after missing the last two seasons due to numerous injuries, but Billups would only be a mere appetizer for the main course that would come later in the Summer. In a sign and trade deal that sent prospect now turned failure Brandon Knight and two other players of little or no confidence to the +Milwaukee Bucks, the Pistons acquired Brandon Jennings to be the team's point guard of the future.  For his past four years with the Bucks, Jennings has been an enigma wrapped inside a riddle as he showed flashes of greatness early in his career only to fall short of expectations by the end of his tenure there. He started of spectacularly in the first eleven games in his rookie season scoring 55 in one game and averaging close to 26 points and 11 assists per game in that time span; however, since then Jennings has been anything but spectacular as he led the Bucks through four rather mediocre seasons with just two playoff appearance that led to quick exits.  Many have criticized him for being overrated and undeserving to be considered as an elite point guard in the league due to his poor career shooting percentage and his rather less than spectacular assist per game numbers.  Their critiques are more than justified upon seeing his numbers as he is a career .394 shooter despite averaging close to sixteen shot attempts per game while at the same time, his assist per game average is rather pedestrian to say the least at just 5.7--far from spectacular for an average point guard, let alone a player as highly touted as Jennings. Despite his shortcomings, at just 24 years old, Jennings still has plenty of time and room to grow as a player and may still live up to the promise that he showed very early in his rookie year.  One needs to remember that Jennings had really no one to pass the too hence his penchant for taking more than his share of shot attempts and his lack of assist can be primarily due to the fact that the teammates that he passed to did not finish at the basket.  All of those factors point out that had Jennings been on the right team with a solid core of players around him, he might just prove his doubters wrong and that is what he has now in Detroit.  The Pistons had solid players who could score and consistently finish around the basket, but they simply did not have the teammate smart or talented enough to get them the ball.  With Jennings, the Pistons may just have that player that will finally turn a team that looked confused and out of sync on the court into to a well oiled offensive machine and from a complete lost cause to a team that is headed to the playoffs. To ensure that Jennings develops into the game changing point guard that he envisions his of being, Dumars hired a head coach who spent his basketball career as one of the top point guards of his generation.  In his 15 year career as an NBA player, Maurice Cheeks earned four All Star selections, named five times to the NBA All Defensive Team, and helped lead the +Philadelphia 76ers to three NBA Finals, winning one of them in 1983. With such an impressive resume, Dumars hopes that Cheeks' knowledge and wisdom will rub off on his young talented yet tainted prodigy; however many still questioned his coaching choice in Cheeks as has not had the same success as a coach as a player.  Thus far Cheeks' resume as a head coach can be considered as mediocre at best as he has a less than stellar career winning percentage of .498 and has only bought his teams to the playoff three times in his eight years coaching in the league.  And considering there was so many other available candidates that have had far better credentials and success coaching than Cheeks ever had, such a choice can not only blow up in his face if it does not work out, but may be the last straw that will finally end Dumars' tenure as the Pistons' top executive.  Nonetheless, Detroit still looks like a far better team that it has ever had over the last five years and thanks to Dumars, the Pistons might just end their playoff drought of the same time span; however, do not expect them to return to their championship glory anytime soon.  With the way the East is looking, Detroit will have its work cut out for them as they will be entering the season in possibly the hardest and most competitive divisions in the league consisting of three teams with two of them being already established powers in the East and another up and coming team that mat find itself in the post season by the end of April.  The +Chicago Bulls will be looking to return to the top of their division with return of their injured star, the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year +Derrick Rose while the +Indiana Pacers look to pick up where they left off last season reaching within one game of the NBA Finals.  At the same time, the +Cleveland Cavaliers look to make their first playoff run of the post-Lebron era after winning the number one overall pick in the NBA draft for the second time in three years, while picking up in free agency an All Star caliber center in +Andrew Bynum and one the league top baxck up point guards in Jarrett Jack.  So expect a real bloodbath as they will be four teams that are basically equally fighting tooth and nail for first place in the Central Division with the Pistons to be one of toughest competitors as they look to rise not only the team but an entire city back to basketball prominence.