3 most pleasant surprises of the season for the Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons only won 23 games this season, but there was still plenty to be excited about.

Cade Cunningham had a slow start but a scorching month of March that reinforced Detroit’s decision to take him with the first pick.

Cade’s brilliance wasn’t a surprise though, as he was the number one pick in an amazing draft class and had already showed signs of potential superstardom in college.

Both Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart made leaps as players, again not a huge surprise given their strong rookie seasons.

But there were plenty of things about this season that were surprising, and some of them were even pleasant surprises, which can be hard to come by in a season that only yielded 23 wins.

Here are three things that came out of nowhere and should have Pistons’ fans excited.

The Detroit Pistons found a second-round gem in Isaiah Livers

Isaiah Livers was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round and then sort of forgotten, as he suffered a late-season injury in his final college season and no one knew when he was going to play.

That didn’t stop the Pistons from giving him a 3-year deal, which was somewhat surprising given his draft position and injury status.

Livers suffered a few setbacks and was really the forgotten man before finally making his debut with the Detroit Pistons in late February.

He only played in 19 games total, but in that time showed himself to be a versatile defender, good passer and reliable long-range shooter.

Livers knocked down 42 percent of his 3-point shots, made hustle plays and is one of those guys who always seems to make the right pass and be in the right position.

Livers played well enough to pencil into the rotation next season, which is a pleasant surprise for a guy who was a second-round pick and injured most of the season.