The Pistons have experienced their most dramatic makeover in over a decade this off-season, as Stan Van Gundy took over as GM and Head Coach in May. Van Gundy is a respected coach in the NBA, as he led a 2009 Orlando Magic team to the NBA Finals, before falling to Kobe, Pau, and the Lakers. He has a career winning percentage of over 60 percent, and has helped develop players such as Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, and Jameer Nelson. In Detroit, he finds a team with plenty of talent, but that failed to produce on both sides of the court in 2013. Their main struggles were shooting three pointers, which is a signature of SVG's teams that have never ranked below 10th in the NBA in three-point shooting, while the Pistons were 30th in the league last year.

Looking at the preseason and the offseason moves that Van Gundy made, it appears those troubles are behind Detroit. In fact, in the final preseason game against Philadelphia, the team shot over fifty percent from downtown. New additions such as Cartier Martin and D.J. Augustin have proven to be strong shooters from deep, and Kyle Singler continues to be a three-point threat.

However, the team has shown in the preseason that it will not live and die by the long ball, which some fans are concerned about. High three-point shooting is a product of Van Gundy's offense, but not the foundation. The system works around quick perimeter passing and two-man games with a guard and a big man. In a 94-80 win over Milwaukee, the Pistons hit only two shots from three-point range all night. However, they focused more on getting to the rim and ended up shooting 25-of-36 from the charity stripe. Also, in that game, the team had five players in double figures, including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 20.

This brings us to another key component of this new offensive system. Not only did the Pistons shoot poorly from deep last year, but they also took too many bad shots, highlighted by Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith. SVG is all about shot distribution, and has stuck to that theory in the preseason. In a comeback 104-100 win against the Hawks, four players attempted between 12 and 14 shots, and Cartier Martin came in with 9. In their last game, every member of the starting lineup took between 10 and 12 shots, as the Pistons took down the Sixers. In many games last year, players such as Jennings and Smith would hoist significantly more shots than players such as Singler and Monroe, who are each skilled offensive players. While Jennings does average plenty of assists, including 11 against Atlanta, it appears Augustin is the better fit at point guard for this particular offense, which relies on perimeter passing to create open, higher percentage shots.

Overall, it's hard to gauge any expectations for this team. On the one hand, SVG seems to have implemented a much needed culture shift for a team that played too much one-on-one last year. He has clearly demonstrated his coaching prowess in the preseason by upping the team's three-point percentage and shot distribution. On the other hand, players such as Jennings, Smith, and KCP are still big question marks. How will they be used and what will they be depended on for? It's fair to say that Augustin has looked like the better point guard and may have earned the starting spot, while SVG has been clear about not starting Smith and Monroe together, so is it possible that Jennings and Smith will join an already crowded bench? Rookie Spencer Dinwiddie looked good in limited minutes after recovering from a torn ACL, while Jodie Meeks will factor back into the lineup once healthy. If the starting frontcourt is Martin, Monroe, and Drummond, then how will SVG manage the minutes of Smith, Singler, and Butler at forward? These questions remain to be answered.

The final verdict, after watching the preseason and listening to the new boss man's words are that this team will be significantly improved from last year. Now, while that isn't saying much, you have to understand that Van Gundy isn't a guy who cares about names or status. He will play the most efficient lineups and keep them fresh. The talent on this team, paired with SVG's proven coaching experience, could fight for a top 5 spot in the Eastern conference, but it will require everyone on board to buy into the new system. In order for the Pistons to return to .500 basketball, they will need to shoot well from three-point range and focus on shot distribution, but seeing as these are two staples of Van Gundy's offense, they will get it done and finally return to the playoff picture in an overall soft conference. Finals run? Not even close. Taking a team to seven games in a playoff series? Perhaps. Better than 2013? Almost certainly.

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About the author
Julian Rosen
Im a graduate of Christopher Newport University, majored in communications (Sports Media) and minoring in sociology. I am pursuing a career in sports radio, broadcasting and/or writing. I am a fantasy football writer for Spoon-Fed Sports, based out of Santa Cruz, California. I am also a Fantasy Sports and NBA writer for Vavel Sports. I am obsessed with Fantasy Football and the Detroit Pistons. Ask me anything about either one. I will be interned with the Detroit Tigers for the 2015 season and hope to land a local radio internship after that.