The Detroit Pistons have not made the NBA playoffs since 2019. Failing to win more than 23 games in a season each of the last four years, new head coach Monty Williams is looking to guide this young team in the right direction entering the 2023-24 season in order to get out from the bottom of the league standings. However, this will be tough to achieve early on with both Bojan Bogdanovic and Monte Morris dealing with injuries.

Ahead of the start of the new season, the Pistons gave some updates on the status of Bogdanovic and Morris, both of which have been dealing with injuries throughout the preseason. Bogdanovic has been sidelined due to a right calf strain and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. As for Morris, he suffered a right quad strain while recovering from lower back soreness and will now be re-evaluated in three weeks.

These are two key pieces for the Pistons to be missing at the start of the 2023-24 season, especially since this is such a young team. In fact, Bogdanovic and Morris are two of the four players on this roster with at least six years of NBA experience. Sharpshooter Joe Harris and Alec Burks are the only other experienced talents in Detroit.

A youthful roster highlighted by recent first-round picks, the Pistons will now have to turn to former first overall pick Cade Cunningham to carry the load as he returns from a season-ending leg injury suffered last year. In Bogdanovic's absence, the Pistons may very well turn to rookie Ausar Thompson to start out on the wing.

Thompson impressed the team throughout the preseason and made a strong case for himself to be in the Pistons' starting rotation. Due to some injuries, the rookie may get the chance to prove his worth from the very first game of the season.

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In a total of 59 games with the Pistons last season, Bogdanovic averaged a career-high 21.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor. A high-level scoring option on the wing, the Pistons will have a hard time replacing his lost production.

Morris played in 62 games with the Washington Wizards last season, averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 assists per game. The 28-year-old guard was traded to the Pistons this offseason in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick.