Both iterations of championship Detroit Pistons teams boasted an elite defense. The Bad Boys and the Goin’ to Work Pistons were two of the top five defensive teams of all time. In this new era, the Pistons have the potential to add a third defensive juggernaut to their storied history and that starts with the guards – Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
The Bad Boys and the Goin’ to Work Pistons both possessed an elite interior anchor and lock-down wing defenders, flanked by relentlessly tough guards.
In addition to defensive player of year Dennis Rodman, the Detroit Pistons had Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, two of the scrappiest and strongest guards in the league at the time. Despite being lethal on offense, both Thomas and Dumars didn’t leave anything on the table on the defensive end.
In a league that featured some of the best perimeter players of all time, the Bad Boys had many complaining around the league that their style was “too physical” or “not real basketball”.
In the same spirit, the early to mid-2000’s Pistons strung together years of deep playoff runs and a championship on the back of the best defense the league has ever seen. Another defensive player of year anchored the interior, Ben Wallace, but both Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton made things difficult before even entering the paint.
While shouldering a bulk of the offensive duties, Billups and Hamilton hounded other guards and smothered some of the best wings we’ve ever seen. The league was forced to take corrective action against hand checking and other advantageous defensive tactics after the Pistons allowed league low 79.7 points per game after acquiring Rasheed Wallace.
We could do a whole piece covering the defensive excellence of this team.
So what do these two teams that are multiple eras removed from the present have to do with today’s Detroit Pistons?
Detroit Pistons: Building an elite defense around the guards
It’s simple. The Detroit Pistons win championships with elite defense. In fact, the Pistons have never won a championship without defense being their primary identity.
As it stands now, the Pistons have some of the most exciting young prospects in the league. A 20-year-old creator who put up rookie-year numbers that are up there with the legends. A wing who scored 51 points in a game in just his second season. Even arguably the most exciting offensive player in college basketball last season.
What if I told you all of that is null-and-void unless the Pistons grow into an elite defensive team?
In this era, I believe it starts and ends with the newly formed Pistons’ backcourt.
Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey have the potential to be one of the better young backcourts in the NBA.
Just looked at individually, both players have the measurables and attitudes to be real defensive stoppers. When you pair the two, it’s hard to not get even more excited for the future.
Cade is the best two-way player on the team and he made it clear last season that he can defend multiple positions with ease. He is 6-foot-6, 220 pounds and has a 7-foot wingspan, which becomes clear when watching him play.
He is a great communicator, and has elite awareness and rotation ability. It’s rare to see a defensive possession where Cade is not up pressuring someone or getting his hands on a loose ball. He was second in the rookie class in steals, just behind the best defensive player in the draft, Herb Jones.
Cade rises to the challenge and is not afraid of any match-up. There are not any glaring weaknesses, but there is one thing that has been trouble.
Cade is quick, but his willingness to attack on defense came leave his susceptible to getting beat off the dribble by smaller, faster players. This sometimes led to foul trouble, most notably early in his rookie season.
Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey and Cade Cunningham are a perfect match defensively
This is where Jaden Ivey comes in. Cade is best matched up with larger wings or forwards, and will be even better as his strength improves. He is much more comfortable guarding Jimmy Butler, Jaylen Brown, or Julius Randle than he is Trae Young or Darius Garland.
Ivey is the opposite. He is disruptive and wiry on defense. He also has active hands in passing lanes, but he is much better suited as the on-ball defender on the other teams lead guard. Put simply, Ivey is a point guard stopper.
He is energetic and bouncy in his stance, good at recovery, and even better in transition jamming the dribbler or rising up for a block.
Both Cade and Ivey complement each other to a tee, at least on defense. Ivey will guard smaller guards and Cade can guard the bigger wings. It’s likely that Cade will be handling more of the playmaking reins on offense so this could leave Ivey to blossom into a true two-way stopper on the other end.
Most importantly, you will never have to worry about effort with either player. As shown by their willingness to jump head first into the culture here in Detroit, Cade and Ivey like to work. They are gamers and have never shown the me-first attitude that has been plaguing some young prospects.
Troy Weaver got this squad a couple gems. If both of these guys buy-in like I think they will, you are looking at the next great Detroit Pistons backcourt.