Detroit Pistons go into training camp looking 'to prove critics wrong'

The promo video starts with a close-up of the back of Andre Drummond’s jersey.

Interspersed with Detroit Pistons highlights, the video focuses on the center’s face as he gives reasons why fans should be optimistic.

Drummond touts his conditioning.

Reggie Jackson, coming off an injury-marred season, is moving well on his problematic left knee, according to Drummond.

Drummond endorses the trade for combo guard Avery Bradley, calling it “huge.”

And then Drummond looks into the video lens and says with emphasis:

“I can’t wait to prove the critics wrong.”

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With training camp beginning Tuesday, the short sentence heard on the Pistons’ Twitter account could be used to sum up the state of the franchise going into the 2017-18 season, the team's first at the new Little Caesar Arena in downtown Detroit.

Many Pistons find themselves in prove-it mode, from whether second-year power forward Henry Ellenson belongs in the league to the organization’s direction under team president and coach Stan Van Gundy.

“We want to prove that we’re a good team,” Jackson said this week. “That’s something I think everybody wants to prove is that they’re worthy and they’re one of the best at doing what they do. I think that’s the same goal every year that we come in.”

Season to forget

At this time last year, there was palpable confidence the young roster would take another leap forward after the breakthrough of 2015-16.

Andre Drummond represented the team in Toronto at the 2015 NBA All-Star Game.

Jackson performed at a high level and was the team's most important offensive weapon.

Stanley Johnson put up a solid rookie season, giving the Pistons confidence he would justify his first-round draft status.

The team was hungry, and played with an edge in earning a 44-38 record and the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, snapping the franchise's six-year playoff drought.

The season ended with a spirited four-game sweep against eventual champion Cleveland Cavaliers, and it appeared the young roster built by Van Gundy was on the upswing going into last season.

But Jackson’s left knee became an issue that loomed over the entire season, and the nagging case of tendinitis forced him to have the second platelet-rich plasma injection of his career.

He missed the first 21 games of the season but never was the same. More disturbing were were the chemistry issues caused by his return in December, as the team played better when he was off the floor. He eventually was shut down with nine games left in the season.

Drummond, meanwhile, looked heavy.

Armed with a maximum contract, he still was a dominant rebounder, but inefficient post play and the familiar free-throw issues cast the impression that his play had plateaued.

Johnson struggled with weight and found himself in and out of the playing rotation.

Despite the problems, the team stayed in contention until a late-season collapse forced a 37-45 finish, four games out of a playoff spot.

Even the front office model is facing questions, now that Van Gundy, Gregg Popovich (San Antonio) and Tom Thibodeau (Minnesota) are the only men holding the dual roles of top NBA executive and coach.

Another shot

The optimism going into last season has turned into skepticism.

ESPN.com’s basketball power index has the Pistons winning 38 games and finishing ninth in the conference.

But the Pistons quietly are confident.

After an off-season program designed to reduce wear-and-tear, Jackson said he feels good and is ready to go.

“Honestly, I want to better than I was yesterday,” Jackson said. “When I come in tomorrow, I want to be better than I am today. That’s my approach to it, honestly, for myself. That’s something I’ve been talking to the team about. Let’s have some goals of course, but let’s really be about consistency.

“Let’s just be about each and every day grinding to be better than who we were the day before. If we do that, it’s going to be damn hard for us not to be good.”

Drummond had off-season surgery to repair a deviated septum to allow for proper breathing. It should allow for better conditioning and more energy.

Johnson appears to have used the career setback in the proper way with an impressive off-season.

The worst shooting team in the league, the Pistons added Bradley and others to address the problem.

But show-me time is quickly approaching.

“Nobody did anything to us last year,” Johnson said. We did everything to ourselves. We laid that bed, we lied in it and we lost. We didn’t get cheated out of any games. … It was all on us.

“If we do everything the right way, I’m totally comfortable with the outcome. I don’t think we’re anything less than a playoff team, if not better, if we do everything the right way. If we don’t, we’ll be in the same position as last year.

Contact Vince Ellis: vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.