Detroit Pistons’ turnaround isn’t just stunning — it has chance to be historic
Dennis Schroder on trade to Pistons: ‘The love I’ve been getting here has been great’
After the Feb. 6 trade deadline, Dennis Schroder talked about his journey to Detroit and what he’s bringing to the Pistons.
- After winning just 14 games last season, the Detroit Pistons are on pace for 43 wins this season.
- The NBA record for a one-year turnaround is 42 games, when the Boston Celtics went from 24 wins 2006-07 to 66 (and an NBA title) in 2007-08.
- But almost no team in NBA history has tripled its win total in consecutive years.
The Detroit Pistons begin their post-All-Star portion of the season this Friday on the road vs. San Antonio in Austin, Texas. At 29-26, they’ve got 27 games left.
Win four of them and they’ll set the franchise record for the best turnaround from one season to the next — previously 18 wins, done three times, most recently in 2001-02 when they went from 32 wins to 50. Win 13 of their final 27 and they’ll have tripled their wins from last season.
That would put them at 42-40, or 28 games better than they were a year ago. In case you’re wondering, that improvement would rank seventh all-time in the NBA.
But the list is deceiving. I’ll explain why in a moment.
First, did anyone take the All-Star break to consider how radical this turnaround is? It’s not just that the Pistons sputtered to 14 wins last season — they also set the NBA’s single-season record for consecutive losses (28).
If the Pistons play .500 ball the rest of the way they’ll set records that seemed unimaginable 12 months ago. If they play a little better than that?
The No. 5 seed is in play, though it still feels like a semi-long shot. And if they play the way they have their past 27 games?
Well, homecourt advantage, at least in the first round, isn’t a ridiculous thought. They’re 18-9 in their last 27. Do it again and, yeah, a No. 4 seed is absolutely out there.
The Pistons currently sit in the No. 6 spot, two games behind No. 5 seed Milwaukee in the loss column, three games behind No. 4 Indiana in the loss column. Three games are a lot to make up in 27.
Think of it this way: The Pacers went 6-4 over their last 10; so did the Pistons. To catch Indiana, Detroit will have to win at a slightly better clip and hope the Pacers slip a touch. (They probably won’t get the same helping hand the Tigers did in their September playoff push, when both the Twins and Royals cratered.)
That’s a lot to ask, and maybe ahead of schedule for the Pistons anyway. That it’s even a possibility, though, is hard to fathom, especially because the Pistons didn’t win the draft lottery (despite having the league’s worst record) last spring or sign an All-NBA superstar last summer.
Which brings us back to history.
Even Boston’s ‘Big Three’ not as shocking as these Pistons
The NBA record for a one-year turnaround is 42 wins. The Boston Celtics did this from 2006-07 to 2007-08, when they went from 24 wins to 66.
Boston won the title that season. I’d argue it wasn’t quite as shocking, or even as impressive, as what’s happening here in Detroit.
What changed for the Celtics?
Their best player, Paul Pierce, got healthy — he missed 30-plus games in 2006-07. And, they added future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen through blockbuster trades in the offseason.
The Pistons added a trio of important veterans, too … but not on the level of Garnett and Allen (though Malik Beasley is shooting like Allen this season).
All of the NBA’s other largest turnarounds came after a team drafted a generational talent — the Spurs improved by 35 wins the season they added David Robinson (he went No. 1 in 1987 and then spent two years in the Navy before hitting the NBA) and then added 36 wins the season after they drafted Tim Duncan at No. 1 — or signed an All-NBA free agent … or two.
The Suns jumped 33 games after signing Steve Nash. The Celtics — yes, the Celtics again — jumped 32 the season they added Larry Bird (though they had to wait a year for him to finish up at Indiana State). The Nets made a similar jump after trading for Jason Kidd.
Luck helps. Fit helps, too.
Nash was a talent ready to revolutionize the league. He needed the right coach. Bird changed the culture and style in Boston. Duncan landed with San Antonio because an injury to Robinson took the Spurs from a title contender to a lottery winner.
These Pistons had no such change last offseason. They made smart but relatively small moves in free agency. They hired a good coach. They developed their young talent.
The best turnarounds in league history have led to deep playoff runs and even a title — the Pistons probably aren’t ready for that yet. But none of those teams tripled their win total either.
To go from ignominy to the playoffs would be more than a coup — it’d be history.
Assuming they don’t collapse, the Pistons are heading toward making some.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on X @shawnwindsor.
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