The Pistons dug out of the NBA’s worst situation and finally gave their fans hope

There’s hope for the Pistons for the first time in a long time.

The Detroit Pistons came home from Christmas a year ago looking like one of the most pathetic teams in NBA history. Detroit fell to 2-28 on the season when it lost to the Brooklyn Nets the day after Christmas as part of an eternal losing streak that tied a league record for consecutive defeats. A franchise that had averaged more than 58 losses per season over the season three years was barreling towards rock bottom with little progress to show for a years-long rebuild.

The Pistons were able to avoid The Bobcats Zone as the worst team ever, but their 14-68 record at the end of the year served as a five-alarm fire that necessitated changes. Troy Weaver was fired as the front office’s lead decision-maker and replaced with Trajan Langdon. Monty Williams was fired as head coach despite having $65 million guaranteed remaining on his contract.

The goal for the Pistons’ makeover was simple: build a competitive team that wasn’t a civic embarrassment to a proud basketball market. Just one year later, it already feels like they’ve cleared that bar.

The Pistons won their 14th game of the season on Thursday night thanks to a ridiculous comeback against the Sacramento Kings. After trailing by 19 points in the second half, Detroit closed the game on a furious rally and took the lead on Jaden Ivey’s impossible four-point play in the closing seconds.

With the victory, the Pistons have already matched their win total from last year on Dec. 26. It’s the third straight win for the Pistons after already beating the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns on their West Coast road trip. After winning only seven games on the road all of last year, Detroit has already won nine times away from home this season.

It’s the first time the Pistons have a legitimate winning streak of three or more games in more than 1,000 days.

The Pistons aren’t exactly world-beaters at 14-17 overall this season, sitting with the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference that’s as bad as it’s ever been. Still, there are real reasons to be excited in Detroit for the first time since the rebuild began following a .500 season in 2019.

JB Bickerstaff has professionalized Detroit’s operation

The Pistons had so much low-hanging fruit to clean up in the wake of the failed Monty Williams era. The team hired JB Bickerstaff to take over as head coach with the hopes of getting the Pistons from Point C to Point B like he did for the Cavs.

Bickerstaff did away with the doomed two-big lineups that were heavily featured under Williams. He fully committed to Jaden Ivey in the backcourt after the young guard had been benched in favor of Killian Hayes a year ago. He worked to put more shooting around Ivey and backcourt mate Cade Cunningham. He also raised the defensive floor for one of the league’s worst units a year earlier.

The Pistons are now No. 15 in three-point rate and No. 17 in three-point percentage, which counts as a major improvement after finishing No. 27 and No. 26 in those respective categories last year. Ivey has taken steps as a secondary ball handler with real scoring punch as Hayes has fallen out of the league completely. The defense has improved from No. 26 to No. 19 despite playing smaller lineups. There’s more structure and more purpose to everything the Pistons do at both ends of the court this year, and that’s a testament to the huge coaching upgrade Bickerstaff has provided.

Cade Cunningham has finally made an All-Star leap

I was all-in on Cade Cunningham as the first pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. His first three years in the league were incredibly disappointing, though there were easy excuses to make, including a leg injury that cost him most of his second season, a total lack of offensive spacing around him, and an awful defensive ecosystem in place.

Cunningham has finally raised his production this season, and he’s dragged the Pistons up the standings with him. The 23-year-old guard is currently averaging 24.2 points, 9.7 assists, and 6.9 rebounds per game. He’s top-5 in the league in points generated if you combine his scoring with the value of his assists.

Cunningham does everything for the Detroit offense, for better or for worse. He’s still an inefficient scorer, with a true shooting percentage plus (where 100 is league average) of 95. He’s third in the league in total turnovers behind Trae Young and James Harden. He’s a poor finisher at the rim for a player his size (he’s converted only 57 percent of his field goals within three feet this year), and he doesn’t get to the free throw line enough.

Cunningham isn’t quite as good as I thought he’d be entering the league, but there’s no doubt he should be an All-Star in the East this season. Putting more shooting around him has opened up his ability to get to the rim even if he’s not great at finishing. His pull-up three-pointer is falling at a 39.8 percent clip this year on 4.2 attempts per game after he hit 32.5 percent on two attempts last year. Trae Young is the only player in the league averaging more assists per game. Cunningham has finally arrived as a low-end star at this point, and he has plenty of ways to keep getting better.

The Pistons have the league’s best shooter knocking down shots

Detroit signed Malik Beasley to a one-year, $6 million deal a week into free agency. Beasley has long been one of the NBA’s better shooters, but he’s been on five teams in five years because he’s a poor defender who lacks a well-rounded offensive game. Beasley might not be a fit everywhere, but he was a welcome addition to a Detroit team that badly needed shooters around Cunningham. He’s responded with the best season of his career.

Beasley leads the NBA in both three-point attempts (290) and three-point makes (122) this season. He’s knocking down triples at a 42.1 percent clip, giving Detroit a shooter opposing defenses just can’t cheat off of on the perimeter.

The Pistons have a long way to go, but they are finally making progress

The Pistons have had enough high lottery picks in recent years. The goal for this season should be making the playoffs, and there’s a path to get there right now in the East.

Going forward, Detroit needs a big who can better protect the rim. I was high on Jalen Duren coming out of Memphis, and he might get there eventually. Right now, his play finishing inside is elite, but the defense is atrocious with him on the floor with a 120 D-rating. Duren just turned 21 years old and has fantastic tools, but he needs to take a step forward defensively if he’s going to be a starting center long-term.

The Pistons could also use more out of Tobias Harris’ spot. Detroit gave Harris a two-year, $52 million contract this summer that will be a big expiring deal this offseason. Harris just hasn’t been very good with a 52.8 percent true shooting that qualifies as the lowest of his career. It shouldn’t be too hard to upgrade in that spot next season as teams try to get off players they no longer want.

Making the playoffs won’t be easy with the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, and Indiana Pacers clinging to the final three playoff seeds right now. The Philadelphia 76ers are coming too if Joel Embiid can stay healthy. Still, if Detroit can eclipse 40 wins this year, there’s an opportunity to make the playoffs in the East.

It’s been said that you have to crawl before you ball, and the Pistons are at least finally doing that much this season. There’s plenty of work left to do for Langdon and the front office, but for once Detroit can finally say there’s something here to get excited about. It’s been way too long.