As soon as the Detroit Pistons lost Cade Cunningham, the noise surrounding the team's playoff chances picked up steam with doubters coming out of the woodwork.
Even prior to the star guard's major setback, it appeared as if the questions surrounding J.B. Bickerstaff's team were louder than any vote of confidence for the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Nonetheless, Detroit has faced its biggest test over the last few weeks without several key players in the lineup, including Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart, and to say the team has passed the test in flying colors would be an understatement.
The Pistons have answered the call, and if there's any way the team can return to full health when the postseason begins, this recent test could be the exact reason the team can elevate to another level.
Pistons supporting cast has proved doubters wrong
Detroit's success up to this point of the season wasn't a fluke by any means, but the team had a list of critics piling up on any weakness they could find to seemingly dismiss any chance at a playoff run for the Motor City squad.
The team's supporting cast seemed to be the biggest critique of the team over the course of the season, with the lack of capable shot makers on the roster outside of Cunningham and veteran forward Tobias Harris.
Not to mention, the ongoing questions on whether or not breakout star Jalen Duren could be an adequate No.2 scoring option alongside Cunningham when the playoffs arrive.
However, the fight the team has shown with their backs against the wall over the recent stretch, with the likes of Daniss Jenkins rising to the challenge, Duren's dominance, and the flashes from multiple other players on the roster like Kevin Huerter, Paul Reed, Duncan Robinson, and even Caris LeVert, who's quietly stepped up.
Detroit could come out of this as a better team
Obviously, having your superstar player go down is never something any team wants to go through, especially this close to the NBA playoffs.
At the same time, the silver lining of the setback could be that when it's all said and done, the Pistons may be a better team when/if Cunningham returns to the lineup.
With the supporting cast proving capable of contributing consistently at a high-level, Bickerstaff will have more confidence in his reserve weapons, which could make the Pistons even more dangerous than they already were.