You may or may not be on board with what the Pistons are doing, but make no mistake about it. This team is ticketed for the playoffs. They've won 10 of their last 12 games to climb to sixth in the East and open a cushion of 3.5 games on the two teams in ninth.
Yes, the schedule has softened of late, but it remains pretty forgiving down the stretch. Barring an unexpected turn, the Pistons will make the postseason for the first time since 2016 and just the second time in the past 10 years.
That has supporters of the team giddy, including Fox Sports Detroit color commentator Greg Kelser.
"I choose to embrace it," Kelser told the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket. I know people will say, 'Well, you call games for the team.' Well, even if I wasn't calling games for the team I'd choose to embrace this because I know winning 10 out of 12 at the pro level is not easy. I don't care the caliber of the opponent."
Those on the other side of the argument feel the Pistons are on a dead-end track. They bemoan the fact the team has taken itself out of the draft lottery. The core in place doesn't look capable of truly contending in the East, so doesn't it make more sense to blow it up and start over?
Yeah, probably. Then again...
"Was that team going to win a championship? No, they weren't. But they did win a playoff series. ... After that, did they hit a bonanza in the draft? No. But they added a few more pieces, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, and now they've got a team (in 2002-03) that's capable of going to the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost in four straight games, but the very next year they won a championship."
The two most important additions along that path, Chauncey Billups in the 2002 offseason and Rasheed Wallace midway through the 2003-04 season, were acquired via free agency and trade, respectively.
"The only guy they took in the draft on their way to that championship, of any significance, was Tayshaun Prince, (the 23rd pick in 2002). He wasn't the first pick or a top-10 pick, but he was a key pick," said Kelser. "You just have to draft smartly, you have to sign free agents smartly and you have to maybe make a couple of wise trades and you can get there."
What you don't have to do, insists Kelser, is tear apart what already exists.
"You don't have to send your fans through the agony of horrible losing seasons to change the fortunes of your franchise," he said. "That's been proven right here in our city. All people have to do is think back, do some homework and you'll see the proof. That's all I'm saying. And this team sort of reminds me of that 2001-02 team that turned the corner and got into the playoffs -- and then stayed in the playoffs, won a championship and got to the Eastern Conference Finals six years in a row. And I don't really recall them ever having the opportunity to draft the first pick or second pick in the draft.
"By the way, the first pick in the draft over the last 35 years, only four guys have won championships for the teams that drafted them. That's David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Kyrie Irving and LeBron. That's it. Four guys in the last 35 years, so there's no guarantee there."
There's no doubt the Pistons look better now than they did a year ago. Dwane Casey has been an improvement over Stan Van Gundy, and Blake Griffin looks fully integrated with his teammates. The players around him, particularly Andre Drummond, are better for it.
The question, really, is whether this season represents meaningful progress. If the Pistons lose in the first round of the playoffs, as they're likely to do, will that be something real to build on? Or will it be another tease like the team's first-round exit in 2016? In the three seasons since then, Detroit's record is 108-119.
As far as Kelser's concerned, getting back to the playoffs is step one.
"When you've only been there once in the last 10 years, I think it has to be considered progress," he said. "Do you really want to take your franchise and your fan base and your city through what Philadelphia did? I mean, I watched that thing. It was horrible for four or five years. But I will say this to their benefit -- they were able to adeptly sell their city on it. So even those years when they were winning 10, 11, 12 games in a whole season they had incredible crowds and plenty of fan support. It was amazing.
"Are the people in Detroit going to do that? I don't think so."
