The Detroit Pistons made a run to the playoffs in 2015-16 and look to be an improved team in 2016-17 with the potential to make a push for home court in the playoffs. This might not be the Bad Boys, but it looks like the time is right for the return of Detroit basketball.

Stan Van Gundy’s Detroit project is really starting to take shape. During his first season in charge, the Pistons had their best record since the 2008-09 season. They followed up that performance by jumping over .500 in 2015-16, the first time since the 2007-08 season when Flip Saunders coached the team to the Eastern Conference Finals in the last year of a long run of success in the 2000s.

The Pistons have made moves to improve since Van Gundy took over, adding players like Reggie Jackson and Tobias Harris through trade and re-signing Andre Drummond while allowing Greg Monroe to walk.

The Pistons won 44 games and made the playoffs, but had the misfortune of running into the buzzsaw of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round and were the first playoff victim of a Cavs team that made a run all the way to the title in 2016. In 2017, Detroit will be aiming to avoid the same type of first-round matchup, instead gunning for the possibility of securing home court and avoiding a Cleveland rematch for as long as possible.