The Detroit Pistons will head to Oklahoma City tonight to take on the Thunder, hoping to break their six game losing streak.
The Pistons have lost 17-of-18 overall, hitting a low point for the season with a shorthanded roster that is missing all of its key veterans.
The Thunder have been one of the surprise teams of the season, as they went from a 24-win team last year (just one more win than the Pistons) to a team that has won 37 games so far and is sitting in the 10th and final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
For next season to be a considered a success, Detroit would need to make a similar leap and OKC has shown it is possible in a league that is wide open and has plenty of parity.
The two teams are similar, as they are both young and being led by dynamic guards, but the Thunder have gotten much different results this season even though they too lost a key player for the season when Chet Holmgren went down before the season even started.
The Detroit Pistons lost Cade Cunningham just 12 games in, but unlike the Thunder, haven’t been able to play through losing a key guy.
Troy Weaver has talked about “being great” next year, but fans would settle for “not terrible.” The Thunder are far from great, but fans in Detroit would be happy if the Pistons were in their position.
So how do they get there?
Pistons vs. Thunder: How Detroit can make a similar leap
#1: Cade Cunningham needs to become Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Both the Pistons and Thunder lost key players this season, but in the Thunder’s case, it wasn’t their best player.
That would be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has made a big leap this season to become an All-Star scoring over 30 points per game.
The two have some similarities, as they are both big guards who can distribute, score and rebound. They also like to do their work in the mid-range.
For Cade to make that kind of leap, he first needs to stay healthy, which is obviously the most important factor, as he might have made similar gains had he been on the court this season.
Cunningham also needs to get to the line more, as SGA is shooting more than 10 free throws per game while Cade shot just 3.6 per game in his 12 games this season and only 2.6 in his rookie year. Some of that will come when Cunningham stats getting a more favorable whistle, but he needs to be more aggressive trying to draw fouls and getting some cheap ones at the line.
If Cade Cunningham plays a full season next year, that in itself might be enough to get the Pistons into the play-in conversation, but they will likely need more.
Pistons vs. Thunder: How Detroit can make a similar leap
#2: Find the right role players
Most of Detroit’s best players are their young guys, so they will improve as they continue to develop. They can count on Cade, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and hopefully James Wiseman and Isaiah Stewart to be better next season to go along with veterans Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.,
But the Pistons also need some quality role players, especially ones who can defend and do the dirty work that helps teams win. OKC has several of these guys, but the two most important are Luguentz Dort, who is a tough defender who will take on any assignment, and Kenrich “Kenny Hustle” Williams, a glue guy who hustles all over the court and does all of the little things.
It looked like Detroit had found one of those types in Hamidou Diallo, but he went out for the season and has likely played his last game in Detroit, as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
It’s possible that the Pistons may have found one of them in Eugene Omoruyi, who was recently rewarded with a new contract. But it’s also possible that he’s just another cast off who doesn’t even have the talent or drive to be a role player in the NBA.
Most of the players the Pistons have are used to being “the man” and you can only have so many of those on one team. Yes, they need more high-end talent, but they also need role players who complement their stars, especially when it comes to defense on the wing.
This has to be a priority, as right now Detroit is just a collection of guys, their roster is a mess, and they don’t look like a coherent or cohesive team.
Pistons vs. Thunder: How Detroit can make a similar leap
#3: Find an identity
The Thunder are not a great defensive team, as they are just 20th in the NBA in points allowed per game, but they are a very good offensive team, scoring the 5th-most points per game in the league this season.
Detroit is consistently bad on both ends, with the 28th ranked offense and defense. The two complement each other, as having a good offense makes teams take the ball out of the net, reduces fast breaks and allows the defense to get set.
Having a good defense sets up the offense by creating more fast breaks, getting some easy buckets and not always having to grind it out in the half court.
The Detroit Pistons don’t have to be top-10 on both ends to be successful, but they have to make a leap on one or the other. This would start by improving their defensive rebounding, so that they aren’t giving up so many easy second-chance points, and are closing out possessions to create transition opportunities.
Detroit is also dead last in the NBA in shooting percentage, so they have to get more players who can shoot to help improve their woeful offense. Troy Weaver has repeatedly said that he wants to build this team’s identity around defense, but has so far not assembled the cast to do it, as guys like James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III are hardly inspiring defenders.
If they can’t get into the top half of the league in defense, then they need to be much better on offense or vice versa, but they need to have some kind of identity next season.
I know some of you are thinking “FIND A NEW COACH” and it’s possible that will happen, but the Pistons have given no indication that they plan to fire Dwane Casey, so until they do, that one is still a big question mark.