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The Detroit Pistons are the epitome of a mediocre basketball team. They currently own a record of 29-31 and have been below .500 for most of the season. They have some good pieces but some really big holes. They look great one night and listless another.
However, they are probably the last team one of the top Eastern Conference squads wants to face in the first round of the playoffs.
Now, to clarify, I don't think the Pistons are going to be upsetting anyone in the opening round. However, they can be a real pain in the rear end for whomever has to deal with them.
The main reason why? Their frontcourt.
It has kind of flown under the radar, but Blake Griffin may very well be having the best season of his career. The power forward is averaging 25.7 points, eight rebounds and 5.4 assists over 35.9 minutes per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor, 36.7 percent from three-point range (on high volume) and 74.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Most importantly, Griffin has stayed healthy, which is something he hadn't done since the 2013-14 campaign.
Remember those days where Griffin was criticized for just being a dunker? Well, if you are still one of those critics, you probably haven't watched a game in five years, as Griffin has become absolutely lethal in the pick-and-pop game and is now a legitimate threat from beyond the arc.
Not only that, but Detroit has Andre Drummond up front, an athletic freak who is registering 17.5 points, 15.1 boards, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals across 33.2 minutes a night while making 52.9 percent of his field-goal attempts and 56.3 percent of his foul shots.
Yes, the free-throw percentage is still rather hideous, but it's a significant step up from his unfathomably bad 43.8 percent career clip.
Those two players are a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams, as their combination of athleticism, footspeed and, in Griffin's case, shooting ability can drive opposing defenses nuts.
The high pick-and-roll is a deadly play-call for the Pistons, as Griffin can either roll to the rim or settle behind the three-point line while Drummond is like a freight train in preparing to take alley-oops at the basket.
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The problem with Detroit is that it does not have much of a backcourt to provide support for the frontcourt duo, especially considering that the Pistons traded Reggie Bullock to the Los Angeles Lakers at the trade deadline.
But, again, this isn't about the Pistons actually beating anyone in a seven-game series; it's about them posing annoying problems that could actually make a team work and tire them out a bit heading into the second round.
The funny thing is, Detroit is legitimately a good wing away from being a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. Of course, the Pistons would need to add some other pieces to fill out their bench, but a good shooting guard (like Klay Thompson, for example) would completely open up the offense and make Detroit much more difficult to defend.
Let's think about the Milwaukee Bucks for a second.
There is a chance that the Bucks end up facing the Pistons in the first round, and to be perfectly honest, that would be a really bad matchup for Milwaukee.
Brook Lopez would essentially be unplayable in that series, as Lopez would have a heck of a time dealing with the athleticism of Drummond, and forget about the possibility of him defending Griffin.
The Bucks don't have a whole lot of defense outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo up front, so Antetokounmpo might actually have to expend quite a bit of energy on the defensive end of the floor.
Would the Pistons beat the Bucks? No, but it would actually be an interesting seven-game series that could have a sliver of drama, especially if Detroit were able to steal one of the first two games in Milwaukee.
The Bucks are just an example, but none of the top Eastern Conference teams want to deal with Detroit in round one. The second round or the conference finals? Absolutely. Bring on the Pistons. But the first round is supposed to be almost like a bye for the top seeds, and a matchup with Detroit would be anything but that.
To be fair, this is also an indication of how bad the bottom half of the East is, as teams like the Brooklyn Nets (who have come crashing down to earth) and the Miami Heat represent other potential first-round options.
But, the fact of the matter is that the Pistons are the last team any of the upper echelon squads want to draw come late April.
