Over the past few years, if you were a Detroit sports fan, the best time of the year to enjoy watching sports would be April. That’s when the Detroit Tigers began their seasons while the Red Wings would begin the final stretch before their annual postseason run (beginning in 1991). However, there is now another time of the year for Detroit sports fan to become excited. That time is late October-early November, when the Detroit Pistons begin their seasons

Yup, the Detroit Pistons.

If you have forgetten about the Detroit Pistons, because let’s face it, a lot of fans have, then this year is the time for you to hop back on the bandwagon. The Pistons are slowly becoming not only a playoff team, but perhaps Detroit’s best hope for another championship. Stan Van Gundy, the Pistons head coach/general manager/trade maestro, is building a team that finally has direction and a winning culture. The Pistons got their first taste of playoff basketball in the closest four game sweep by Cleveland you would ever see. Led by Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, the 2016-2017 Pistons have an extremely young core (all of their starting players are under age-26) that gained much needed experience from their first playoff trip since 2009. In the offseason, the teams gained seasoned bench players (Ish Smith and Jon Leuer) and exciting younger players (Henry Ellenson and Boban Marjanovic) to help shore up the depth. Perhaps the best part of the offseason is that people still don’t expect much from the Pistons. Past Pistons teams like the 2004 NBA Champions thrive on this disrespect. Now this Pistons team could take advantage of that opportunity as well.

With this being said, don’t expect the Pistons to win a NBA title this season. With the Golden State Warriors picking up Kevin Durant to become a superteam and the Cleveland Cavaliers motivated to repeat, it will be hard for the Pistons to crack that ceiling. However, if we see the Pistons win a playoff series this year and make a deep postseason run, we could see the beginning of something special at the Palace of Auburn Hills over the next few years.

Time to get excited over November again!