Fansided

5 reasons Detroit Pistons can win NBA Finals

By John Buhler

Apr 6, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy yells to a player during the second half of a basketball game against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. The Pistons won 108-104. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy yells to a player during the second half of a basketball game against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. The Pistons won 108-104. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Feb 28, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) pulls up for a shot against Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) during the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 114-101. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) pulls up for a shot against Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) during the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 114-101. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Match up well with about every East team.

Not only do the 2015-16 Pistons have a star player in Drummond, a great head coach in Van Gundy,  areason to celebrate on just making the NBA Playoffs, and the team most capable of pulling off a first-round upset, but the Pistons match up well with every playoff team in the Eastern Conference.

Detroit has the physicality to hang tough down low with big teams like the Cavaliers and the Heat. They shoot well enough at times from the outside to stretch great defenses like the Hawks’ and Celtics’ beyond the breaking point. Detroit has improved guard play to hang with the Raptors and the Hornets. And of course, there’s always venom between the Pistons and the Pacers.

While Detroit is at best the sixth most talented team to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs this spring, they are one of the few teams in the East that matches up well with all teams that made the playoffs. In essence, there is a unique strategy that can be implemented by Van Gundy to theoretically beat each foe in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Yes, Detroit will need several lucky breaks to even have a shot at winning it all in 2016, but in a year where the East feels tighter than it has in a while No. 1-8, perhaps the Pistons do have what it takes to shock the world and pull off the biggest NBA Championship upset in history.

It will have to be one game at a time, but in the East there isn’t really one nightmare matchup for the Pistons. Yes, the Raptors aren’t a great one, but Detroit can find away to rattle a Toronto team that will feel immense pressure to succeed this postseason. Detroit feels loose and playoff basketball is back in the Motor City!

For more posts on the 2016 NBA Playoffs, please check out our NBA Playoffs hub page.

Home/Detroit Pistons