The Detroit Pistons will begin the pre-season on Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies

During the summer, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff had an opportunity to oversee his squad from a distance as Detroit’s players sprinkled in training with a little bit of offseason vacation. But now that the group is back in Motown competing during training camp, Bickerstaff is eager to return to the court and see what the Pistons look like in the pre-season opener on Monday, Oct. 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies. 

“You know, we've spent a lot of time working on the details of our system, both offensively and defensively,” Bickerstaff said on Saturday after practice. “So, we want to see where we are and how we can execute it against other teams. You know, it’s tough a lot of times when you're playing against yourself and you know what's coming. But if you can execute it versus other teams when they're not as prepared for it, you see where you stand a little bit.”

As of late, the word coming out of Detroit indicates that the Pistons are motivated and amped up to potentially reach the playoffs for a second consecutive season. As such, the team has entered training camp ready to compete, and that mentality has flowed through the starters into the rotational unit as well.

“The way camp has gone, there's not one guy out here that I can tell you doesn't deserve to play,” Bickerstaff said. “Camp has been so competitive, and guys have played at such a high level. I'm pleased with the depth that we have, but we’ve got some tough decisions to make because of it.”

Overall, the Pistons did not experience a ton of turnover during the offseason. A few veterans such as Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley and Dennis Schroder left the team, but they were replaced by Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert, two veterans that are expected to contribute mightily right away. 

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But apart from that, many Pistons fans are excited to see what Jaden Ivey looks like when the guard returns from his broken leg injury. Last season, Ivey was breaking out to the tune of 17 points a night, and his high-octane pace helped drive the Pistons’ second-ranked fastbreak offense.

“He's been good,” Bickerstaff said of Ivey. “You know, all the things that we've asked, he looks explosive. He looks comfortable out there. He looks like himself.”

Along with Ivey, the Pistons will welcome the services of rookie Chaz Lanier out of Tennessee. As a relative of Pistons legend Bill Lanier, it sounds like Chaz is acclimating well to the culture in Detroit and that he’s excited to learn as much as he can. 

“He's taking it all in, and I think he's learned on the fly quickly,” Bickerstaff said of Lanier. “You watch his natural instincts offensively, and he's unbelievable at reading the game again, like he knows the spacing on the floor, he knows when to cut. Like I told our staff, there's gonna come a point in time in his career where he has 30 points and he's only dribbled the ball four times. He's got that type of off-ball feel and awareness and ability to shoot the ball.”

The Detroit Pistons will start the pre-season in two days against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road. Tip-off for the contest will be at 8 pm.

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