{"id":196788,"date":"2026-05-23T19:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=196788"},"modified":"2026-05-24T07:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T11:05:21","slug":"pistons-believe-they-can-get-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/23\/pistons-believe-they-can-get-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons Have Work To Do On Roster Which Trajon Langdon Believes Will Be Done: \u201cWe\u2019re Always Going to Feel Like We Can Get Better and That\u2019s The Goal, is to Be a Championship Contender.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Pistons<\/a> produced one of their best seasons in franchise history, but they fell short of expectations in the playoffs. Now, the Pistons face many critical decisions. What are they, and what can the Pistons do to improve?<\/p>\n

Pistons Believe They Can Get Better This Offseason<\/h2>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Detroit went 60-22 this past season, earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference. It marked the third time in franchise history the Pistons have won at least that many games, the last time being 18 seasons ago. However, the Pistons fell short in the Eastern Conference playoffs, losing in seven games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals.<\/p>\n

Detroit was taken to seven games by both Orlando and Cleveland<\/a> in the playoffs. While the Pistons were excellent defensively in the postseason, they struggled mightily with turnovers and shooting.\u00a0 A big problem for the Pistons all season long was that they didn’t have a consistent second scorer, and that came into sharper focus during the Cavaliers series.<\/p>\n

Cunningham, who averaged 28.1 points a game in the playoffs, was held to under 20 in two of the final four contests of the series while shooting just 39.9% from the field. Tobias Harris<\/a>, who was fabulous against Orlando, totaled just 24 points over the final three games against the Cavaliers. Duncan Robinson<\/a> (11.8) and Jalen Duren<\/a> (10.2) were the only other Pistons in double-figures in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We\u2019re always going to feel like we can get better and that\u2019s the goal, is to be a championship contender<\/em>,\u201d president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said about whether he will take a swing at bringing in a second scorer<\/a>. \u201c<\/span>We didn\u2019t think it would come this fast, these questions about being a championship contender after Year 2. We have to factor that into the equation as well. Two years ago, when I took the job, nobody in here thought I\u2019d be getting championship contender questions two years later. But here we are<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n