In Stan Van Gundy's first season in Detroit, the Pistons limped their way to 32 wins, a modest 3-win improvement from 2013-14 but still their 7th straight sub-.500 season and a long ways away from the title winning heyday of Chauncey Billups and Co.

After a 2-0 start with wins over two top-15 teams, the excitement is building in Michigan. For good reason too. Not since they were 33-31 in March of 2009 have the Pistons been two games over .500.

So how have they gotten here?

This past offseason, Van Gundy continued to re-shape the roster to fit the 4-out, 1-in style offense that he ran in Orlando. That is where four players hang around the perimeter while one big man roams the post.

He let Greg Monroe walk. He traded for stretch-fours Marcus Morris and Ersan Ilyasova. He also drew some ire for passing up Justise Winslow and drafting Stanley Johnson instead. Many questioned those moves, but it was all in line with getting the roster he needed around his current version of Dwight Howard: Andre Drummond.

Heading into the season with a rebuilt starting lineup, we pegged Detroit as the 11th best team in the East with a 37-win season. Another modest improvement. However, after beating a 60-win Atlanta squad by 12 and an up-and-coming Jazz squad, the Pistons have already moved up in our power rankings, passing up Charlotte and sitting only 1.2 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has gone 6-for-12 from deep. After shooting below league average at 33.7 percent from three his first two seasons, Caldwell-Pope is looking like, at age 22, he could be in the midst of a breakout season.

The final player valuable to the system is a playmaking floor general who can run the pick-and-roll. In Orlando, Van Gundy had Jameer Nelson. In Detroit, he is banking on Reggie Jackson. Especially after signing him to an $80 million deal. The Pistons' 9-7 record over the final 16 games last season and averages of 19.9 points and 10.9 assists over the final month earned Jackson the contract and starting spot in Detroit this season. His 17.0 points, 4.5 assists, and 42.9 percent shooting from three this year are nearly identical to the line (16.7 points, 5.4 assists, and 45.3 percent three-point shooting) Nelson posted during the Magic's run to the NBA Finals in 2008-09.

Verdict

With Van Gundy's track record, a .611 winning percentage and seven playoff appearances in nine seasons, we should be inclined to believe the Pistons are playoff contenders. Even after two solid wins, however, I am not ready to say we will see them in the postseason this year, especially playing in the Central against higher-ranked Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Indiana.

Now if they can knock off the also 2-0 Bulls for their third win, we may have to reconsider their place in the East.