Even though the Pistons had a surprising season, they were a disaster against the teams in their own division.
For the Detroit Pistons to progress in the standings, they will have to beat the teams in the Central Division and they are on their way after a having a solid (not spectacular) offseason while two rivals may have taken steps back.
The Central was the strongest division in the Eastern Conference last season, with four teams finishing in the top six.
Detroit finished 6th just behind Milwaukee (5), Indiana (4) and Cleveland (1) in the standings, so the Pistons don’t have to look far to see the teams they need to beat to climb the ladder.