Detroit Pistons Head for 70 Win Season

It hasn't happened since the 1995-1996 basketball season of the Chicago Bulls. Led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen the Chicago Bull were able to win 70 games with an NBA championship trophy. The Bulls were able to do this with scoring touch and lots of defense holding their opponents scoring to a minimum in each game. At that time guard Ron Harper was managing the point guard spot for the Chicago Bulls. However Ron Harper finds himself in a new position. He now sits on the sidelines of the Detroit Pistons as a coach.

However this is not the Chicago Bulls this is the Detroit Pistons lead by Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton on the offensive end and Ben Wallace on the defense end. These are the same Detroit Pistons that have made it to the finals for two years straight winning one championship on their two visits. However there is something different. No longer is Larry Brown leading this team on the coaching bench. Instead it's coach Flip Saunders that has this defensive group playing like one of the best offensive teams in the NBA. This has led them to the best start in the NBA.

How far these Pistons will go maybe too early to determine. However they have made some believers of themselves including former Chicago Bulls player Scottie Pippen. On a recent television broadcasts he told ESPN that he believes these Pistons have what it takes to win 70 games this season. This was based on what he saw from their defense and from the much improved free-flowing offense.

The worry was that Chauncey Billups would become more of the shooter then a passer which has led to the Pistons success. This worry has not been a problem as Chauncey Billups is averaging the best assist to turn over ratio in the league. This is also a strong part of why the Pistons have become so efficient on the offensive end.

Will the Pistons actually win 70 games this season? Can they return to the NBA finals once again? These are all great questions for the Pistons who feel it a challenge to get back to the finals. And it all depends on consistency, hard work, defense and the continued progress of their offense. They too have had the luck of very few injuries in their Finals runs. If they can continue what they had done the first quarter of this season and build off of it with new players coming off from injuries like Lindsey Hunter; then they do have an excellent chance of getting close to the 70 Mark Plateau.