Rod Beard's 2018-19 Pistons final grades

Go through the gallery above to view Rod Beard's final grades for the 2018-19 Detroit Pistons. Click here if you’re having trouble viewing the gallery.

Going back to the preseason, the Pistons didn’t have high expectations. There were projected as a fringe playoff team and the Las Vegas projections had them at about 39 wins. Despite getting 41 victories and the No. 8 seed, they seemed to underachieve.

After another good start, they fizzled in December and January and had to salvage their playoff hopes in the final two games. The Bucks swept them out of the playoffs, by double-digit margins in each of the four games.

Injuries to Blake Griffin, Ish Smith and others were a big part of the Pistons’ collapse, but hot-and-cold shooting from beyond the arc and an inconsistent bench were causes as well. The front office will have some big decisions to make in the offseason about the roster construction, but won’t have a lot of financial flexibility to help them make major changes.

Griffin was the unquestioned centerpiece but there were some big gains by Luke Kennard, Bruce Brown and additions at the trade deadline that helped them make the postseason, and could be in the future plans as well.

Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard