Knicks: With a Solid Off-Season, Which Teams Can New York Leapfrog?

Detroit Pistons

Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) walks onto the court with guard Reggie Jackson (1) and forward Anthony Tolliver (43) in front of him during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Heat 99-98. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Pistons will most likely be worse with the aforementioned Greg Monroe leaving for the Bucks. Although Detroit could experience some addition by subtraction since Monroe was never a good fit with Andre Drummond.

With the addition of a stretch-four in Ersan Ilyasova, the two could possibly resemble another of Stan Van Gundy‘s successful duo in Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. Under Van Gundy the Magic went all the way to the NBA Finals in 2009 with a great pick-and-roll big man and a lethal three-point shooting cast. Ilyasova shot 38.9% from three-pointers last season, which will help open up the floor for Drummond but as it stands the rest of the Pistons are iffy at best if left alone from downtown.

With starting point guard Reggie Jackson running the show and being a sub-30% career three-point shooter, it is hard to see opponents not packing it in the paint and daring him to shoot. While it will be interesting to see if Van Gundy can replicate the magic he had in Orlando (pun totally intended), it is doubtful he can duplicate that with this roster. Detroit won 32 games last season and I do not see that number budging much, New York should be better than this currently constructed Pistons team.

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