Full Pistons schedule: They open at home vs. Nets

For the Pistons, it’s a new season, with a new coach and front office.

The roster, though, is mostly the same.

The approach will include a renewed optimism with Dwane Casey at the helm — and a healthy Reggie Jackson and Blake Griffin forming a trio with Andre Drummond — looking to get the Pistons back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

After finishing 39-43 last season and in ninth place in the East, they’ll look to turn things around, beginning with the opener on Oct. 17 at Little Caesars Arena against the Brooklyn Nets.

Casey, who was the coach of the year last season with the Raptors, gets a return engagement when the Pistons play at Toronto on Nov. 14.

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They’ll have four nationally televised games on ESPN: Dec. 7 versus the Sixers, Jan. 9 at the Lakers, Feb. 27 at the Spurs and March 13 versus the Heat.

Griffin plays against his former team, the Clippers, in Los Angeles on Jan. 12, part of a four-game west coast trip that includes the Lakers, Kings and Jazz.

The Pistons begin their second season at Little Caesars Arena and have key home games against the rejuvenated Lakers and LeBron James on March 15. They open the season with four of their first five games at home. After the Nets, they face the Sixers on Oct. 23, the Cavaliers on Oct. 25 and the Celtics on Oct. 27.

They have another big stretch of home games, where they have eight of nine at home, beginning Nov. 23 against the Rockets — and including games against the Knicks, Bulls, Warriors (Dec. 1) and Thunder (Dec. 3).

As the NBA has looked to ease the tight schedule and reduce the numbers of back-to-backs and condensed travel, the Pistons will see some relief. They have 13 back-to-back, just below the league average of 13.3.

Individual game tickets for home games go on sale Aug. 16 at 11 a.m. at Little Caesars Arena or through Ticketmaster.com.

PISTONS SCHEDULE 2018-19

OCTOBER

Wed. Oct. 17, Brooklyn, 7:00 p.m.

Sat. Oct. 20, at Chicago, 8:00 p.m.

Tue. Oct. 23, Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.

Thu. Oct. 25, Cleveland, 7:00 p.m.

Sat. Oct. 27, Boston, 7:00 p.m.

Tue. Oct. 30, at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Oct. 31, at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

NOVEMBER

Sat. Nov. 3, at Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 5, Miami, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 7, at Orlando, 7:00 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 9, at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Sun. Nov. 11, Charlotte, 3:30 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 14, at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 19, Cleveland, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 21, at Houston, 8:00 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 23, Houston, 7:00 p.m.

Sun. Nov. 25, Phoenix, 4:00 p.m.

Tue. Nov. 27, New York, 7:00 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 30, Chicago, 7:00 p.m.

DECEMBER

Sat. Dec. 1, Golden State, 7:00 p.m.

Mon. Dec. 3, Oklahoma City, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 5, at Milwaukee, 8:00 p.m.

Fri. Dec. 7, Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m. 

Sun. Dec. 9, New Orleans, 3:30 p.m.

Mon. Dec. 10, at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 12, at Charlotte, 7:00 p.m.

Sat. Dec. 15, Boston, 7:00 p.m.

Mon. Dec. 17, Milwaukee, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 19, at Minnesota, 8:00 p.m.

Fri. Dec. 21, at Charlotte, 7:00 p.m.

Sun. Dec. 23, Atlanta, 4:00 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 26, Washington, 7:00 p.m.

Fri. Dec. 28, at Indiana, 7:00 p.m.

Sun. Dec. 30, at Orlando, 3:30 p.m.

JANUARY

Tue. Jan. 1, at Milwaukee, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 2, at Memphis, 8:00 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 5, Utah, 7:00 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 7, San Antonio, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Jan 9, at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m. 

Thu. Jan. 10, at Sacramento, 10:00 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 12, at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 14, at Utah, 9:00 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 16, Orlando, 7:00 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 18, Miami, 7:00 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 19, Sacramento, 7:00 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 21, at Washington, 2:00 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 23, at New Orleans, 8:00 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 25, at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Tue. Jan. 29, Milwaukee, 7:00 p.m.

Thu. Jan. 31, Dallas, 7:00 p.m.

FEBRUARY

Sat. Feb. 2, L.A. Clippers, 5:00 p.m.

Mon. Feb. 4, Denver, 7:00 p.m.

Tue. Feb. 5, at New York, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Feb. 8, New York, 7:00 p.m.

Mon. Feb. 11, Washington, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 13, at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Feb. 22, at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Sat. Feb. 23, at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Mon. Feb. 25, Indiana, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 27, at San Antonio, 8:00 p.m. 

MARCH

Sat. Mar. 2, at Cleveland, 5:00 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 3, Toronto, 6:00 p.m.

Wed. Mar. 6, Minnesota, 7:00 p.m.

Fri. Mar. 8, at Chicago, 8:00 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 10, Chicago, 12:00 p.m.

Mon. Mar. 11, at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Mar. 13, at Miami, 7:00 p.m. 

Fri. Mar. 15, L.A. Lakers, 7:00 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 17, Toronto, 4:00 p.m.

Mon. Mar. 18, at Cleveland, 7:00 p.m.

Thu. Mar. 21, at Phoenix, 10:00 p.m.

Sat. Mar. 23, at Portland, 10:00 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 24, at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.

Tue. Mar. 26, at Denver, 9:00 p.m.

Thu. Mar. 28, Orlando, 7:00 p.m.

Sat. Mar. 30, Portland, 7:00 p.m.

APRIL

Mon. Apr. 1, at Indiana, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Apr. 3, Indiana, 7:00 p.m.

Fri. Apr. 5, at Oklahoma City, 8:00 p.m.

Sun. Apr. 7, Charlotte, 4:00 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 9, Memphis, 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Apr. 10, at New York, 8:00 p.m.

Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard