The Pistons open the 2026-27 season Tuesday at 3 p.m. against the Celtics, and that means it’s prediction season again. Detroit gets the East’s top two teams from last year right out of the gate, and our NBA experts weighed in on what comes next for a roster that looks different, deeper, and still full of questions.
Omari Sankofa II sees a team that may have upgraded, but still has to prove it in a stronger conference. His biggest question is simple: “The Pistons are different, but are they better? They added shooting and depth over the summer, but have to prove it was enough to stay afloat in an improved East.”
For him, the swing factor is Jalen Duren, whom he picked as the breakout player and biggest leap candidate. Duren, he wrote, “has always been physically dominant looked even more dominant during preseason, and enters Year 5 with something to prove.” Sankofa also wants a close eye on Ron Holland, who he noted was the team’s second-best perimeter defender last season as an NBA sophomore and has been working on expanding his offense.
His trade deadline names were Michael Porter Jr. of Brooklyn and Norman Powell of Chicago, two shotmakers on teams he expects to be in sell mode by the Feb. 11 deadline. And he went with a bold call: “The Pistons lead the East in wins, again.” In his view, “Depth and defense lead to regular-season success, and I'm not convinced there's another team in the conference better in those categories.”
That put Detroit at 56-26 in his forecast, just ahead of Boston at 55-27. He slotted the Knicks, Cavaliers, Pacers, Raptors, 76ers and Heat behind them, then projected the Pistons to finish in the Eastern Conference finals, losing to the 76ers in seven games.
He sees Philadelphia as the most playoff-ready team in the conference if everyone is healthy, pointing to the additions of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. In his bracket, the Thunder beat the Spurs in the West finals, then Oklahoma City takes the title over Philadelphia in seven, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander “matchup-proof” and making the late shots that decide a second championship in three years.
Shawn Windsor’s read is a little different, starting with a tougher question for Detroit: not shooting, but ballhandling. “If Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren improve their handles, the Pistons improve their offense.
If not … enjoy the muck.” He chose both Thompson and Duren as breakout candidates, saying both looked more purposeful and efficient in the preseason.
Windsor’s player to watch is John Collins, who he said struggled defensively in a small preseason sample. The standard, he wrote, is not perfection: “He doesn't need to be great.
But he does need to compete and be in the right spots.” On the trade front, he floated Kyrie Irving of Dallas and also wondered whether New Orleans could eventually move Trey Murphy III “for less than four first-round picks.”
He also sees Detroit and Boston meeting in the East finals, calling for both teams to get there. His “bold prediction” had the Celtics reaching the conference finals and the Pistons doing the same.
But Windsor placed Boston ahead of Detroit in the standings, with the Celtics at 55-27 and the Pistons at 54-28. He believes Detroit wins a seven-game second-round series over the Knicks before falling to Boston in seven, saying the Pistons will get revenge on New York but get outshot - barely - in Boston.
In his full playoff bracket, the Celtics beat the Pistons in the East finals, the Thunder beat the Spurs in the West finals, and Oklahoma City then takes the NBA Finals over Boston in six. Windsor wrote that the Thunder “reminds everyone what they look like when they are healthy.”
In Other News...
Taurean Prince Could Fill A Pistons Need Bigger Than Expected
Taurean Prince arrived in Detroit as one of the more practical additions of the offseason, the kind of veteran pickup that can look modest on paper but matter in a few different ways once the games start. Over a 10-year career, he has bounced around the league enough to know different roles and different locker rooms, and that experience is part of why the Pistons brought him in alongside his shooting ability.
For a young team still sorting out its identity, Prince could wind up filling a need that goes beyond just spacing the floor. Detroit is trying to replace what Tobias Harris brought after his departure, and the Pistons are banking on Prince to help both the rotation and the daily tone around the team as the development push continues. [Read more 🡒]
Detroit Basketball Just Put One Of Its Own On The Pistons Bench
Marcus Stouts rise into the Pistons coaching staff adds another local connection to a bench that already knows the value of developmental work. A former Detroit Renaissance standout, Stout spent time at Fordham as a player and later coached in The Basketball League before joining the organization as an assistant with the Motor City Cruise, where he continued building his reputation around player development.
Now he gets his first regular-season look with the Pistons staff, a promotion that carries meaning well beyond the title. Stout has talked about how much it means to coach in front of his family, and his background suggests he arrives with the kind of perspective Detroit can use on a roster full of young players trying to take the next step. [Read more 🡒]
Cason Wallace Deal Makes Ausar Thompson Even Better For Pistons Fans
The Thunders long-term commitment to Cason Wallace adds another layer to how the 2023 draft class is being valued, and it gives Pistons fans a useful point of comparison for Ausar Thompson. Wallace and Thompson have been grouped together as two of the classs most promising young defenders, the kind of wings who can reshape a teams perimeter identity. For Detroit, seeing Wallace land a five-year, $139 million extension only reinforces the idea that Thompson belongs in that same tier of prized building blocks.
What makes the comparison even more encouraging for the Pistons is that Thompsons contract came in slightly higher, a sign of how much the league still believes in his upside. The two players are not identical offensively, with different roles and different paths toward impact, but the defensive value is obvious on both sides. For a Detroit team trying to stack young talent that fits together, Wallaces deal is another reminder that Thompsons value is very real, and possibly only beginning to show itself. [Read more 🡒]