Mid-Season Report Card: Pistons

The Jerami Grant ascent, the shocking victories over good teams, the ultimate lottery entry.

Are the Pistons the best kept secret in the NBA?

No, but they beat the Celtics (twice), Suns, Lakers, Sixers, Heat, and Nets! What? Unfortunately they can't beat the bad teams.

Denver is probably steaming at the production of ex-Nugget Jerami Grant who along with Chris Boucher is a frontrunner for MIP. Mason Plumlee is a G.O.A.T. of fantasy basketball this season, and Saddiq Bey has potential. There's nothing else of substance to Detroit this year. They're in a foot race with Minnesota for the Cade Cunningham sweepstakes.

Marketability

Similar to the Magic, the Pistons aren't very fun to watch, unless they're playing the ten best teams in which case they will probably win. Detroit's problem is that they have less assets to move and aren't a free agency destination, which means they'll be rebuilding through the draft for a while.

It will be interesting to see what Jerami Grant does once he realizes he's not getting any help for a while. Maybe he likes the spotlight. Perhaps the Pistons could opt to only play against the league's best teams. They'd definitely win the championship.

Deadline

The Pistons should look to acquire draft picks at the deadline for expendable roster pieces not considered part of their long-term future.

Grade:

C- (A for upsets)