This year’s edition of the Detroit Pistons has only played two preseason games so far, but they have impressed greatly in those games. Although they lost the second of those games to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pistons led by double digits at halftime before pulling their best players out. Their success has been predicated by a tenacious defense and an unstoppable superstar guard, just like the formula that the Thunder followed to win the NBA championship last season.
The Pistons are following the Thunder’s lead
Last season, the Thunder had a historic defense led by hellacious perimeter defenders who were hellbent on forcing turnovers. The Pistons have a cadre of athletic wing defenders who are capable of the same effect, highlighted by Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II. Against the Grizzlies in the preseason opener, these two showed out on defense and created a lot of fastbreak opportunities off misses or turnovers.
The Thunder do also have solid rim protection to support their ballhawk perimeter players. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein man the paint in Oklahoma City, and both are capable of altering or blocking several shots every game. The Pistons can also replicate this element of defense with Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, although it’s harder to play these two together than the Thunder twin towers.
Still, it’s more important to have reliable rim protection on the court throughout the game than having a surplus of that skill at the same time. The Pistons arguably even have an advantage in rim protection depth over the Thunder because their third-string center Paul Reed is also a staunch defender. However, Duren is probably the weakest defender of the five centers named and he will have to improve further on that end to fully unlock the Pistons perimeter players.
There are obvious offensive similarities between the Thunder and Pistons in the most important element: their offensive engines. Cade Cunningham may soon be in MVP talks if he keeps up his preseason momentum. He seems poised to take his game to another level.
Cade’s well-rounded game as a big guard has drawn similarities to reigning league and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander before, but there were a few things separating the two last season. If the improvements that Cade has shown so far in preseason - namely finishing at the rim and hitting pull-up threes - hold true through the regular season, he can be on the same tier as Shai.
The overall talent of the Pistons doesn’t quite match the Thunder just yet, and their records will surely reflect that. But the Pistons have established an identity along the same route as the defending champions, and have seen proof that it can lead to the top of the mountain. As the team continues to develop, they can follow the outlines of that example to build a true championship contender.