Will the Pistons make the playoffs?

[Mr Bones]

They beat Toronto tonight, the #2 team in the east. They're 9-1 in their last ten games, with the only loss a close game against the #1 team in the east, Atlanta. It would be an amazing story after starting the season 5-23. They're only 2 games behind the current #8 seed Brooklyn.

http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/pistons-make-it-9-1-over-last-10-another-amazing-road-comeback

[Legacy]

Yep.

[Malik Hairston]

They should easily make it..

The East is much improved, but the 7-8 seeds are still terrible, tbh..

[100%duncan]

Yup.

[gambit1990]

yeah.

[Sean Cagney]

I hope they do, they are a good team and much better after dropping that contract in Josh Smith as that was a damn good move. They are alot better now as a team.

[Robz4000]

Shit, they could end up with HCA.

[Mal]

They could have HCA in 1st round. Atlanta, Bulls and Washington will get first 3 spots. Rest is wide open, with any other team being good.

Take it back. I forgot about Toronto. So first 4 seed are taken. They could go as high as 5th place.

[Robz4000]

They could have HCA in 1st round. Atlanta, Bulls and Washington will get first 3 spots. Rest is wide open, with any other team being good.

Take it back. I forgot about Toronto. So first 4 seed are taken. They could go as high as 5th place.

The Bulls, Raptors, and Wizards have all been looking vulnerable lately. Could definitely see Detroit surpassing one of them.

[Mal]

The Bulls, Raptors, and Wizards have all been looking vulnerable lately. Could definitely see Detroit surpassing one of them.

Detroit is 11 games behind. With 47 games left, Washington going 23-23, means that Detroit should go 35-12, which is not going to happen. They arent .750 team. Coaches will soon figure them out and Detroit start to lose.

[TDMVPDPOY]

wtf below .500 pathetic leastern conference making playoffs is a fkn joke

[Franklin]

They're the eastern OKC imho. They're going on a winning streak and will finally make the playoffs despite the big hole they dug early on this season.

[DMC]

So were they in tank mode prior to dumping Smith?

[Mal]

So were they in tank mode prior to dumping Smith?

I dont think so. They traded for Jennings, sign Smith, Meeks. Get Van Gundy to coach. It just didnt work out with 16mil player being cancerous.

[hater]

Toronto is a joke and should not be considered a measuring stick for anything. Didn't they dominate last year and got bounced by brooklyn at home in round 1? :lmao

[8FOR!3]

My best friend's a big Pistons fan so we were talking about this yesterday. I definitely think they're a playoff team, might be the hottest team in the league right now.

[100%duncan]

My best friend's a big Pistons fan so we were talking about this yesterday. I definitely think they're a playoff team, might be the hottest team in the league right now.

Hawks

[8FOR!3]

Hawks

I thought they beat the Hawks last week but now that you said that I think the Hawks ended up winning that game.

[100%duncan]

I thought they beat the Hawks last week but now that you said that I think the Hawks ended up winning that game.

Hawks ended their streak

[FlAVaK]

Drummond was limited because of illness, actually Pistons should have won against the Hawks...

[Cry Havoc]

Pistons could be a tough out in the first round as well, considering how weak the East is. No one is going to want to play them.

[cjw]

I don't put a ton of weight on these, but the Hollinger playoff odds have them at 75% (same as the Spurs). Though Cleveland's probably a little higher than the 56% they're listed at.
http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds

They'll pass either the Heat or Nets and could even catch Milwaukee.

[Dex]

It's the Eastern Conference, so a 5-23 hole isn't impossible to climb out of. They are 14-24 now, which means that would need to go 27-17 to finish .500 which would pretty much guarantee them a playoff spot.

With the way they have been playing, that seems pretty reasonable as long as Monroe and Drummond stay healthy.

[baseline bum]

They should surpass the shitty Nets and get into the playoffs, but I'm not sold on them making much noise when in, as I'm not a fan of Jennings.

[JamStone]

Toronto wasn't a measuring stick. It was more so a confirmation on how well they have been playing. Up until the Mavericks win, I felt like the win streak was a cute little fluke. Even the Spurs win seemed like a fluke with being way down in the second quarter and the lucky ending leading to the game-winner, the Spurs being without Kawhi and having Tony limited just getting back, and with Pop coaching like a retard in the second half. I still didn't believe. But the Dallas win opened up my eyes. Out of any of the wins, that was the measuring stick game. The second of a road back-to-back for the Pistons after a "flukey" but exhausting win against the Spurs, Dallas also guarding a 6 game win streak of their own, and for the most part having all their key players. And Detroit led from tip off to final buzzer and won comfortably. That was the signature win.

The win streak felt flukish in the beginning because the first 5-6 wins were against bad teams. The thing of it is, the Pistons weren't just beating those bad teams. They were blowing them out. First indication that it might be for real. Do what you're supposed to do against bad teams. Blow them out. Then it's the second half of the win streak, and they play 4 of the top third teams in the league record wise, three of them on the road, with the Spurs, Mavs, Hawks, and Raptors. They win 3 of those 4, all three wins on the road. And they lose by 3 to the Hawks.

I really don't know what's going on tbh. They're playing like a hot college team in the NCAA tournament. They're playing with a lot of effort and with a lot of unselfishness. And it's not one or two guys. It's like a different guy every night. At every position, there have been different players in some of these close wins to close out the game. Jennings-Augstin, Meeks and Pope, Singler and Butler, Jerebko and Tolliver, Monroe and Drummond. Even Joel Anthony has played significant minutes in the fourth quarter a time or two. There's no one guy at any position that HAS to close out the game. It's really weird to watch. But fun. Whoever has it rolling is playing to close the game. There are no gripes or bad blood about who takes what shot. It's not the NBA we've been accustomed to watching since Jordan changed the game. It's what's happening in Atlanta and Toronto as well. It's kind of cool.

I have no idea how sustainable it's going to be with the Pistons. And I'm not completely on board the bandwagon just yet. I still have my reservations. But they've certainly caught my attention. And their style of play during their last 10 games has been something pretty refreshing to watch.

[DMC]

Toronto is a joke and should not be considered a measuring stick for anything. Didn't they dominate last year and got bounced by brooklyn at home in round 1? :lmao
Teams that dominate even in the RS aren't "a joke". This is especially true in the East.

[Bulaien999]

Fools gold, Pistons are Blazers East

[Jenks]

Definitely. SVG is a taskmaster, teams either play their asses off for him or revolt. It looks like they're going with the first option with their cancer gone to Houston.

[DMC]

Fools gold, Pistons are Blazers East

Along with the Rockets, aways the up and coming. You guys haven't done shit since Jordan checked back in.

[AlexJones]

Best team in motown imo

[bdubya]

They'll definitely take at least the 8 seed in the near future. If they fail to hold onto it, it will be the first "late-season collapse" by a team that started 5-23.

[Darth_Pelican]

Don't look too good tonight. Pels are spanking them. It's so pleasurable watching a Pelicans game and knowing that Austin Rivers isn't about to check in.

[Pelicans78]

Don't look too good tonight. Pels are spanking them. It's so pleasurable watching a Pelicans game and knowing that Austin Rivers isn't about to check in.

I feel like I can finally breath now after 2 and 1/2 years.

[Malik Hairston]

Pelicans are such a strange team..they looked so fucking bad vs. the Celtics the other night, but come back the next game and win @ Detroit by 20:lol..

[Legacy]

If they had won tonight they would have been the '9th seed.'

[redzero]

Pelicans are such a strange team..they looked so fucking bad vs. the Celtics the other night, but come back the next game and win @ Detroit by 20:lol..

They almost literally will win one game and then lose the next one, no matter who they play. Textbook definition of mediocre.

[Splits]

I'd like to know if there has ever been a team that started worse than 5-23 and still made the playoffs.

[Pelicans78]

Pelicans are such a strange team..they looked so fucking bad vs. the Celtics the other night, but come back the next game and win @ Detroit by 20:lol..

Its because they're a poor defensive team. If they're not shooting at a high level, they're gonna lose. Despite having Asik and Davis in the frontcourt and Holiday on the perimeter, everyone else is poor defensively, especially Anderson, Gordon, and Tyreke.

[Franklin]

time to get that Pistons forum back?