The Detroit Pistons will be in the Playoffs after Hiring Dwane Casey
The Toronto Raptors just came off their best season in NBA history. So clearly the smart move is to fire the coach who led you to the most wins in franchise history. That previous sentence is idiotic, yet it’s exactly what the Raptors did. They fired their head coach Dwane Casey. 5 of the 7 years Casey coached in Toronto, the team made the playoffs. On top of that, the Raptors finished 1st in the Atlantic Division 4 times. The Raptors were a good ass team and still let go of their head coach. His firing was made with the point that they couldn’t get past Lebron, but Lebron’s probably leaving for the West, so that was just a scapegoat reasoning. Toronto will regret firing Casey.
The Pistons got Lucky Landing Casey
The Pistons went their separate ways with Stan Van Gundy after a mediocre season this past season. With Van Gundy gone, it seemed like this team might need to go for a season or two of rebuilding with a new and probably young head coach. Then Toronto screwed up and made Dwane Casey available for the rest of the NBA. The Pistons scooped him up and are now gonna be in the 2018-2019 NBA Playoffs. The thing that makes Dwane Casey an amazing head coach is his attention to detail. He’ll find the best way to utilize Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond together. On the Raptors, guys like Fred Van Fleet became stars because they were used properly, and I have a feeling on the Pistons Casey will get dudes like Luke Kennard or Langston Galloway to become insanely impactful. Depth is Dwane Casey’s top priority.
How Good can they be?
The Pistons are in the Central Division which consists of the Pistons, Cavs, Bucks, Pacers, and Bulls. If Lebron leaves Cleveland, that gives Detroit the chance to be the best or second best team in the division behind only maybe the Bucks. This offseason the Pistons should look at improving their point guard position. They, unfortunately, don’t own their first round pick as they traded it to the Clippers in the Blake Griffin deal. That means they’ll need to do all of their work in free agency and try to sign a player like Rondo or maybe throw some money at Shane Larkin. This team has good enough scorers and great big men to be a winning team with a good head coach.
The Pistons will Make it Further than the Raptors
This is for sure a hot take, but I believe that the Pistons could be better than the Raptors. The Raptors took a downgrade in coaching when hiring their assistant coach Nick Nurse to be their head coach. If that team coached by Dwane Casey got swept in the second round, I don’t see much hope with Nick Nurse leading the way. Also, I personally want this to happen just to be a big “fuck you” from Casey to the Raptors. It’s way too early for predictions, but if I had to say I’d have the Pistons getting the 6th or 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. They finished 9th last season, but with Lebron leaving the Cavs they’d move up. The Pacers had a one hit wonder type of season I feel, so I believe this Pistons team could surpass them. The Wizards straight up have no identity. Finally, the Bucks only have Giannis. Let’s hope for a 3 vs. 6 playoff matchup between the Raptors and Pistons and a Dwane Casey revenge upset.
-Brandon Black (Follow @bhblack02)