At the beginning of this season, I couldn't have been more wrong about the Pistons. I actually thought they would be contending for a playoff spot in the weakened Eastern Conference. And would benefit from it. Kind of the winning breeds winning and losing breeds losing sort of idea.
Oooops.
They do have veteran players who are relatively high-priced in Tayshaun Prince, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey. They do have a core of younger players who are talented in Brandon Knight, Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko. Lawrence Frank is a better coach than his predecessors. Yet, rather than progress, the Pistons have been dreadful. The veteran nucleus has been a disaster. Money thrown down the drain. The younger players have made progress, but it's not nearly enough for respectability. The Pistons will have a shot at getting a very early pick in the draft.
I was lukewarm to that idea a month or two ago. I just didn't see that potential differencemaker. Not anymore. I do believe the Pistons can get an impact player, who could star in the league for a long time: Anthony Davis from Kentucky.
He's 6-10 with a long wing span and is a shot blocking machine (nearly 5 per game) His offensive skills are relatively raw, but he is a freshman. He does shoot for a high percentage (65 percent from the floor) and he isn't one of these big guys who can't make a free throw (70 percent). Davis is better every time I see him.
The Pistons need athleticism badly. They also need somebody, above all else, who can guard the rim.
I think this kid will be a better NBA player than Andre Drummond from UConn and especially Perry Jones from Baylor, who has not taken the expected step forward this season.