There are a million legitimate ways to start a classic if-then sentence that ends with “… then the Pistons will make the playoffs.”

It could be, “If they improve as much defensively this year as they did in Stan Van Gundy’s first season. … It could be, “If they play as well at home as they did over the last six weeks last season. … Or it could be, “If Stanley Johnson has the type of impact his Summer League showing suggests he could. …

But ESPN might have provided the best opening to that sentence yet last week when they pegged Andre Drummond No. 4 and Reggie Jackson No. 6 among all NBA players likeliest to become first-time All-Stars this season.

If that happens – if both Drummond and Jackson are in Toronto representing the Pistons – then, yeah, there’s an excellent chance the playoff drought ends in 2016.

For starters, we know that NBA coaches – the ones charged with filling out the rosters after fans vote in the starters – almost never reward players from losing teams. On the assumption that Drummond and Jackson aren’t likely to win the popularity contest that the fan vote always is – especially given the Pistons’ lack of national TV exposure – then the only way they become All-Stars is leading the Pistons to an impressive record through the first 50 or so games when the rosters are set.

The fact a national media outlet obsessed with the handful-plus of teams that show up on TNT’s Thursday night telecasts and largely dismissive of all others singled out two Pistons on that list is a little eye-opening in itself. They’re right: Drummond and Jackson are prime candidates to challenge for an All-Star berth on merit. It’s just surprising that they rose above the field to land on ESPN’s radar. And it at least implies that somebody out there regards the Pistons as a strong candidate to be a winning team come February.

Drummond and Jackson both performed like All-Stars down the stretch last season. Drummond’s numbers after last year’s All-Star break were easily the type to have him in this year’s game: 16.1 points, 14.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks.

Jackson didn’t get to Detroit until the trade-deadline deal and played 27 games with the Pistons. It was a little rocky at first, but his final 16 games were nothing shy of scintillating. Jackson averaged 19.9 points, 10.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds. If you round up to 20, 11 and five and extend that over a full 82 games, here’s the company he keeps: Chris Paul, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. They’re the only players to put up a season with those numbers in NBA history. Magic and the Big O did it three times apiece, Paul – the only player to do it in the past 25 years – once.

Is it likely he can do it for a full season? Maybe not. A deeper team with nice options behind him at point guard, especially if Brandon Jennings is healthy, might mean Jackson won’t get quite as many opportunities to post those numbers. But anything in the neighborhood will do just fine.

As for Drummond, there’s no reason to think he won’t pick up where he left off. He just turned 22 and has done nothing but get better in his three NBA seasons. It’s tough for players to develop a go-to move during the season – that’s what the off-season is for – but Drummond got markedly better as the season wore on with his back to the basket, gaining increasing confidence in his hook shot.

And both players figure to benefit from a more cohesive approach this time around. Jackson, by his own admission, struggled initially when the Pistons played with two big men. His torrid 16-game finishing kick began the night Greg Monroe missed the first of 11 consecutive games with a knee injury and the Pistons replaced him with a true stretch four, Anthony Tolliver. They’ll have the capacity to play that way 48 minutes a night this season with Ersan Ilyasova and Tolliver at power forward and, perhaps, Marcus Morris spotting there, too.

There’s also this: Drummond and Jackson showed almost immediate chemistry last season. No reason to believe that greater familiarity – and a whole off-season for Stan Van Gundy to scheme with them in mind – won’t enhance the effect. One’s All-Star candidacy, in other words, should speed the other’s along. Among many intriguing storylines possible this season, potential All-Star berths for Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson are right near the top.