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.
The Detroit Pistons have an Iron Man in Saddiq Bey
Saddiq Bey started all 82 games for the Detroit Pistons the season, one of only two players in the entire NBA to do so.
I don’t think this is a complete shock, as Bey played in all but two games in his rookie season and has the type of blue-collar mentality that Pistons’ fans love in their players. He is a guy who wants to be out there and coach Casey would have had to chain him to a wall to keep him out of games this season.
The surprising part to me was the season that he did it in.
There was a point in the season when my notifications were going off every five minutes with a new guy in health and safety protocol.
COVID ravaged the league at times this season and just about everyone was affected by it, including most of the Pistons not named Saddiq Bey.
To start all 82 games in a tanking season so full of injuries, question marks and illness is a pretty remarkable feat and really shows the type of player the Detroit Pistons have in Saddiq Bey.
Availability is one of the most important abilities and Bey’s endurance and reliability may be his most underrated trait.
Marvin Bagley III finds new life with the Detroit Pistons
The most pleasant surprise this season was that the Pistons took a low-cost flyer (two vets who were not part of the plans and two second-round picks) on Marvin Bagley III and it appears to have paid off.
Bagley III found new life in Detroit, coming off the bench and providing a scoring weapon and a lob threat for Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes.
Bagley III averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Pistons in a career-high 27 minutes per game and did it efficiently, shooting 55 percent from the floor.
He seemed more comfortable and happy with Detroit and is a guy they will hopefully re-sign to a team-friendly deal that also gives him some stability and a chance to improve.
Bagley III is still just 23-years-old and looks like he’ll at least be a valuable bench weapon for the Pistons, a guy who can really grow and become a pick-and-roll weapon with Killian Hayes.
These are the kinds of risks I love the Detroit Pistons to take, as they could end up with an impact player on a value contract that he could easily outplay.
I thought Bagley III was well worth the cost of two second-round picks, but was happily surprised at how productive he was. He still has a lot of work to do on the defensive end and has to get better as a passer, but he has shown exciting offensive potential and it looks like the risk paid off.