A Q&A with Sean Corp of SB Nation’s Pistons site Detroit Bad Boys.

What needs to happen for this to be an enjoyable season for Pistons fans?

An improvement on being the least efficient offense in the NBA during a prolific offensive era would be a start. More specifically, the fans need to see some growth from Andre Drummond as a defensive difference-maker and a player who makes better decisions on offense. A player that bad at post-ups should not have the seventh-most post-ups in the NBA.

Detroit Pistons / Projected Starters
Position	Starters	Bench
Guards	Reggie Jackson	Ish Smith Beno Udrih
Wings	Avery Bradley Tobias Harris Stanley Johnson	Langston Galloway Reggie Bullock Luke Kennard
Bigs	Andre Drummond	Jon Leuer Anthony Tolliver Boban Marjanovic Henry Ellenson

What makes Pistons fans most excited about this year? What makes Pistons fans most nervous?

The pieces fit better this year after Stan Van Gundy spent a couple of years in pure talent acquisition mode. Losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Lakers in free agency hurt, but getting a player like Avery Bradley who makes more sense alongside Drummond and Reggie Jackson is exciting. Adding other three-point threats and ball handlers like Langston Galloway and Luke Kennard also could really help the offense.

Fans are most nervous about a pretty simple fact: Drummond and Jackson are the two highest-paid, most important members of the team. What if they're just not good enough to take you anywhere? What happens then?

Gut Check

Survey data collected from site writers and editors. The wider the graph the more optimism and trust the fans have in their team! The grey line indicates the average of all sites' collected data.

6.2

Out of 10

How good will your team be this year

6.4

Out of 10

Are they on the rise or on the decline

5.1

Out of 10

Are fans happy with the team’s direction or angry

6.6

Out of 10

Are they trying to win now or build for the future

What storyline might a national audience be missing about the Pistons?

The Pistons exude a boring, forgettable, sad vibe after last season. But people forget just one year ago they were coming off a 44-win season, and Drummond and Jackson played really well.

The national audience thinks Detroit regressed to its true form last season, when a lot of fans actually consider that rock bottom and unlikely to repeat itself.

Why should neutrals pay attention to the Pistons this year?

Van Gundy is a good coach and a great interview, with epic sideline meltdowns. Boban Marjanovic is actually supposed to get real minutes this year, and he's been an unstoppable offensive force in his (very) limited time on the court so far in his career.

In a horrible East, we wouldn't be surprised if one of Drummond, Bradley, Tobias Harris, or Jackson made a legitimate case for an All-Star berth.

What's your prediction for the season?

47-35. Fifth seed. Top-10 defense, a healthy Jackson, a more mature Drummond, and dangerous three-point shooting make Detroit a frisky first-round team in the playoffs.