The Pistons are discovering relevancy in basketball circles once more and Cade Cunningham is an enormous motive why.
With 10 wins in its previous 12 video games, Detroit has risen to eighth within the Jap Convention. They’re tied with the Miami Warmth in seventh, and only a half sport behind each the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Even residence courtroom benefit within the playoffs is simply 1.5 video games away.
To place Detroit’s 21-19 report close to the midway mark in perspective, the group’s highest win whole over the previous 5 years for a complete season was 23-59.
Bear in mind, Jaden Ivey suffered a damaged fibula in his left leg simply over every week in the past.
So, simply how are the Pistons doing it?
Cunningham’s Leap
If somebody had been to make a blueprint earlier than the season on how the Pistons might be a profitable group this season, it will begin and finish with Cunningham making a leap.
Now in his fourth season, Cunningham is averaging 24.5 factors, 6.6 rebounds, 9.4 assists, and slightly below a steal and a block per sport. What was as soon as a questionable exterior stroke at beneath 32 % in every of his first two seasons is now a wholesome 38.2 % on 6.5 three-point makes an attempt per sport.
Cunningham has been completely lights out in January to encourage this latest profitable run, placing up 26.5 factors on 50.3 % taking pictures from the sphere together with 45.8 % from deep in eight video games this month.
He can do it with the shot and the cross, whether or not it’s the monster 40-point exhibiting towards the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 4 or the 17-assist night time towards the Toronto Raptors every week later.
For those who wished to see a showcase of management, Cunningham was immense towards the Knicks on Monday night time. New York appeared in an advantageous place up 4 at halftime with Cunningham having racked up 4 fouls. The 23-year-old as a substitute got here out for the second half with 11 straight factors and a complete of 18 within the quarter to shift momentum again.
He completed with 36 factors on the night time whereas not committing a single foul within the second half to stun the Knicks crowd.
Moral hoops, no foul baiting, straight buckets of each selection.
36 PTS | 29 PTS within the second half. pic.twitter.com/tur7N60EEk
— Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) January 14, 2025
Wildcard Beasley Emerges
One other key for the Pistons coming into this season would have been to have somebody carry out properly above expectations. That man has been Malik Beasley.
Whereas all the time a fantastic exterior shooter, Beasley has supplied a degree of consistency not seen for the reason that 2020-21 season. His 16.5 factors per sport is the very best common of his profession since then and the 9.4 threes he’s making an attempt per sport a brand new career-high. He’s flattening 40.4 % of these makes an attempt.
There have been 13 video games up to now this season the place Beasley has knocked down not less than 5 triples.
Ever for the reason that harm to Jaden Ivey, Beasley’s scoring has develop into all of the extra vital and he has develop into a reliable aide in Cunningham’s trigger.
MALIK BEASLEY ICES IT FOR DETROIT 🧊
Again-to-back 3s within the last minute…
Pistons have received 10 of their final 12 👀 pic.twitter.com/RSHGwAbO7K
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2025
Bickerstaff Impact
A season in the past, the Pistons ranked twenty eighth in offense and twenty fifth in protection, completed with the worst report within the league at 14-68, and fired Monty Williams from the top teaching function after one season.
J. B. Bickerstaff got here in with pretty low expectations contemplating the Cleveland Cavaliers fired him after what was deemed underwhelming outcomes. His time with the Pistons up to now already speaks for itself.
To date, the Pistons rank seventeenth in each offense and protection, marked enhancements from a 12 months in the past. Throughout this newest stretch when the group has received 10 of 12, Detroit has the eighth greatest offense. A superb chunk of that has to do with taking pictures the lights out with an efficient discipline aim proportion of 57. Which may be one thing to search for if the Pistons come again right down to earth.
Detroit has additionally been the sixth-best offensive rebounding group throughout this scorching 14-game stretch.
One factor the Pistons have executed properly all season is push the tempo. The group ranks sixth in transition frequency on the season, although they’re backside 10 in effectivity. Throughout this profitable stretch, Detroit has managed to up its transition frequency to tops within the league whereas additionally bumping effectivity as much as thirteenth.
Sneaky Depth
The league at this time has made it very tough to win with out depth.
Whereas not possessing attractive names, the Pistons are getting contributions from completely different gamers on completely different nights which might be making an important distinction. Ron Holland is rising as a younger prospect, Isaiah Stewart is embracing his function off the bench, and Ausar Thompson’s function is steadily increasing.
Most are unmoved by Tobias Harris, however that low season acquisition has supplied understated veteran stability.
Is The Streak For Actual?
Maybe the very last thing to contemplate in all that is how actual this Pistons streak is.
Beating the Suns and Lakers on the highway is actually credible, whereas beating a Kings group nonetheless beneath the tutelage of Mike Brown could have been proper time, proper place. That applies to beating the Magic with out Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner as properly.
4 of the wins have come towards Charlotte, Portland, Brooklyn and Toronto.
An enormous indicator of the Pistons’ enchancment is that they’re now 11-13 towards plus-.500 groups and 10-6 towards sub-.500 groups. Profitable towards good groups often sufficient and beating groups you’re now anticipated to beat most of the time reveals they’ve come a good distance.
Final 12 months, Detroit went a hardly fathomable 3-49 towards plus-.500 groups. That claims all of it.
Nobody is trying on the Pistons as contenders and even contemplating the chance that they may win a playoff spherical.
It’s nonetheless price recognizing that after years within the abyss, this Pistons franchise appears to be like firmly heading in the right direction.
