A year ago, the Detroit Pistons were a playoff team with a .500 record.

They were in the midst of a run of three straight playoff appearances.

They had some of the best players in the NBA.

But it was a slow start, and the Pistons have struggled to make any headway since.

The last time they went a full season without winning a game, it was 2003-04.

They finished the year with a 46-52 record, losing in the first round of the playoffs for the second time in four years.

But this time around, they’re looking to build off a successful start.

The Pistons are a contender.

They’re also one of the most popular teams in the league.

The players are enjoying a breakout year.

The fans are getting excited.

There are a lot of potential reasons for the team’s turnaround, and they could have as many as two more surprises.

Here’s a look at some of them.

What has the team accomplished?

There have been some big offseason moves, such as the trade of Andre Drummond to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The trade has made some people happy, and Drummond could be the team to get it done.

But he’s not the only player to make an impact on the team. 

Joakim Noah has made the most of the opportunity.

Noah has averaged 17.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game over the past three seasons.

That’s a pretty good shooting percentage, but Noah has been an absolute stud in that role.

He has a career 37.3% true shooting percentage from the field, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

He also has the fifth-highest assist percentage in the Eastern Conference behind Derrick Rose, Joakim Lohmann, Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley.

Noah was the first player in the last five years to average at least 16.3 assists per game, according the NBA’s Elias Sports Bureau.

He’s also one half of the Bulls duo of Kyle Korver and Taj Gibson.

The two players combined to average more than 24 points and 10 rebounds per game last season, per NBA.com, so Noah’s been a big part of the Pistons’ success.

He is also the leading scorer on the club, per Basketball-reference.com’s box-score stats. 

Who is Victor Oladipo?

The 23-year-old center is making his debut as a Piston, and he’s already had an outstanding start to his NBA career.

Oladips stats have been eye-popping.

He ranks sixth in the entire league in assists (14.4) and first in blocks (1.4).

He’s already made his NBA debut, and his first game was a highlight reel.

Olads scoring average is .471, which would rank him fourth in the East among qualified players.

The 19-year old is averaging a career-high 22.6 points per game.

His scoring average of 7.3 is tied for sixth among all players in that category.

He had a career high-tying eight three-pointers on Sunday night, per ESPN.

He finished with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, including 3-of.

4 from beyond the arc. 

What has the offseason been like for the Pistons?

The offseason hasn’t been all that busy, as far as teams go.

The Red Wings have lost three of their last four games.

The team’s next two games are against the Washington Wizards and the Los Angels Angels.

They also travel to face the Orlando Magic on Friday.

The Magic have been one of Detroit’s best teams this season, and their success is on the back of the young players.

They have two players that have been selected to the All-NBA Second Team, which is just one point ahead of the Detroit second team.

They’ve been playing well as a team, and it’s nice to see them get some success on the road. 

How has the NBA seen the team play lately?

The Pistons have had some interesting starts, including a 6-1 start in their first three games.

But their struggles have started to show.

They dropped five of their next seven games and have been outscored by an average of 10.5 points in those contests.

That includes a season-high 16 points in a loss at Minnesota on Wednesday night.

It was the fourth time this season that the Pistons were outscattered by more than 10 points, per Elias Sports. 

The Pistons have been playing some of their best basketball of the season, but there are some things to be concerned about.

The biggest one is the lack of chemistry with their starting lineup.

They lost the starting lineup in three of the last four seasons, and there hasn’t really been much of a chemistry problem between the frontcourt and the backcourt