The Detroit Pistons have emerged as a dark horse in the Eastern Conference this season, with the team’s record improving month by month, from a 50% win rate in December last year to 10 wins with a 62.5% win rate last month. Entering February, the Pistons are still in excellent team form, with 5 wins and 2 losses before the All-Star Week, a winning rate of 71.4%, which has improved their regular season record to 29 wins and 26 losses, and their ranking has quietly risen to sixth in the Eastern Conference. The number of regular season wins so far has already surpassed the dismal 14 wins and 68 losses of the previous season. It is certain that the Pistons’ number of wins this year will set a new high in the past six seasons.
Last season, the Pistons played at a very fast tempo under the leadership of head coach Monty Williams, with PACE per game high enough to rank in the top ten in the league. However, the fast-paced style of play not only failed to bring out the vibrant characteristics of a young team, but instead resulted in too many unnecessary mistakes and a loose offensive and defensive system. The Pistons’ single-game points allowed, team offense and defense indexes were all at the bottom of the league last season, and they also tied the longest 28-game losing streak in league history. It’s hard to imagine that they rebounded from the bottom to become competitive in the playoffs in less than a season.
Over the years, Pistons players have come and gone, and the team has always been on a long road of rebuilding, but the three drafts in 2021, 2022, and 2023 are the most critical three years for the Pistons to usher in a bright future. The Pistons first won the No. 1 pick in 2021 and selected the then-recognized No. 1 pick, the all-around point guard Cade Cunningham . Then in 2022, they added point guard Jaden Ivey and penalty zone beast Jalen Duren with the 5th and 13th picks in the first round, and in 2023, they again took the 5th pick and selected the physically fit Ausar Thompson. These four young players cover the backcourt and the frontcourt, establishing the core lineup that the Pistons have been cultivating for a long time. Even though the price the team paid in terms of performance in recent years really made the fans feel dark, fortunately, the team did not give up their development plan, so they were able to see the light this season.
This season, the Pistons added veterans Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. , as well as sharpshooter Malik Beasley, who is in his prime, to upgrade the team’s rotation depth and game experience. In addition, the continuous optimization of the offensive and defensive systems and lineups brought by the Pistons’ new head coach JB Bickerstaff has brought the team’s rebounding ability to the top level in the league, and many offensive and defensive data have improved to near the middle level of the league, making them a team that cannot be underestimated.
In particular, the main point guard Cunningham will finally have his first taste of the All-Star Game in the fourth season of his career. With his comprehensive improvement in personal averages of 25.4 points, 9.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game, plus the endorsement of the team’s record, Cunningham has finally caught up with his peers Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley and advanced to the All-Star Week. This will also be the starting point for Cunningham to become a star.
Cunningham carried a lot of expectations from Detroit when he first entered the league, but facing the Pistons’ revival, he was unable to quickly become the city’s savior. Instead, it took him a long time to adapt to the ecology of the professional arena. While Barnes, who was picked fourth in the same draft, was doing well in the Raptors and won the Rookie of the Year award, Cunningham was still struggling in a bad team. In addition, he was reimbursed after playing only 12 games in his second year. Even though he could produce good stats, he could not lead the team to victory, so his value was always questioned.
However, this season we finally see Cunningham, who has an attendance rate of 90% and is in better shape, playing to his advantage as a tall point guard on the court. With his excellent passing vision and sense of space, he has created a lot of organized offenses with pick-and-rolls as the starting point. The cooperation between him and his teammates has achieved better efficiency in Bickerstaff’s system, which has also relieved his own offensive pressure and made his personal scoring performance more commendable.
As a core player who holds the ball a lot, Cunningham has brought a sense of security to the team this season and exuded a leadership style on the court, which is absolutely worthy of his selection into the All-Star Game. Compared with the performance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , a hot MVP candidate in the league today and also a ball-handling core , in his fourth season, he averaged 24.5 points, 5.9 assists and 5 rebounds. Not only was he not selected for the All-Star Game, the Thunder also had a record of only 24 wins and 58 losses during the rebuilding period. Cunningham’s performance from the fourth year of his career to date is better than Alexander’s in all aspects, except that he needs to learn to control his mistakes.
I’m not saying that Cunningham will definitely become an MVP-level player stronger than Alexander in the future, but what I want to say is that a 23-year-old new generation ball-handling ace is rising. I believe Cunningham is on the right path to becoming a top star.
