This has been one of the best quarters of a season for the Detroit Pistons in years.
Last quarter, the Pistons were surging, but they’ve taken it to a new level over the last 20 games. Throughout this stretch, they are not only one of the most efficient offensive teams in the NBA, but they are also top three in defensive efficiency. Each player is playing their role extremely well, and in turn, Detroit is blowing past a possible Play-In game, and taking aim at a home playoff series.
With that being said, let’s breakdown each position group and grade how each did over this third quarter of the season.
Point Guards/Guards: B+
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but this team goes as Cade Cunningham goes. Last quarter, Cade was playing at an All-NBA level, and while he still is in these last 20 games, his numbers have gone down slightly. His 3PT% is down 6%, his rebounds and assists are down, but his overall plus/minus is up almost 4 points. If you’ve watched games this quarter, you know these dips are likely due to teams keying in on the superstar and limiting him as best they can. He’s still playing fantastic ball, but Cade isn’t being asked to take over games like he was last quarter.
The two biggest stars out of the guards group are Dennis Schroder, Detroit’s newest acquisition, and Malik Beasely. Detroit acquired Schroder at the deadline and he’s been exactly what the Pistons need. He comes in with the second unit, and then can close games out alongside Cade if need be. His efficiency with Golden State was subpar, but since coming to Detroit and in an offense that is a better fit, he’s seen his FG% increase by 1.6%, his 3PT% increase by 9% (!), and has a plus/minus of 7.5.
Malik Beasley is the other X-Factor here. He has been incredible. So much so that he could have been named to the All-Star game as well. Over this last quarter of the season, Beasely has shot the three ball at 48% on almost 10 attempts per game. That’s absolutely underheard of.
Schroder and Beasely carry the load for the guards this quarter, and even though Cade’s numbers have decreased slightly, he’s still getting it done. That’s a B+.
Forwards: B
Across the board for Detroit’s forwards this quarter, the nitty-gritty stats were improved, yet the efficiency fell slightly. All four of Ausar Thompson, Simone Fontecchio, Tobias Harris and Ron Holland II saw their three point percentages fall from last quarter, Ausar dropping a whole 31.3% down to zero percentage this quarter. They’re 3PT shooting went down an average of 14.15%, but they made up for it in other areas.
What is interesting about this group, however, is the assists, steals, blocks and turnovers were increased for almost all four guys compared to last quarter. We know that Ausar has improved in these categories ever since being elevated to the starting lineup, but the others are holding their own as well.
Additionally, Tobias Harris, outside of his three point shooting, has increased his scoring just as Detroit has needed him to. His overall FG% has increased 8.3% from his last 20 games, and his points per night has risen to 15. This is the scoring the Pistons needed when they signed him along with his 7.7 plus/minus from this quarter. If this group can bring their three-point shooting up a bit in the final quarter, their grade will raise dramatically.
Centers: B+
Arguably the best performance from Detroit’s different position groups was the centers. Paul Reed had a statistical down quarter compared to last, but only played in 14 games. Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, however, had a fantastic quarter. Both players saw their points, FG%, 3PT%, rebounds, and blocks increase. Duren increased his assists and steals as well.
That is the jump that fans have been waiting for from Duren. During this quarter, Duren was asked what has changed in his play and he simply said he was playing soft before.
What’s less tracked during these grades is defense, but Duren’s defense has taken strides as well. Duren saw the largest plus/minus increase out of any one during this third quarter of the season at an 8.2 increase. A lot will be decided in this final quarter of the season, but Duren is very much playing himself into Detroit’s future and putting any concerns to bed.
For what it’s worth, if you take out Paul Reed, Stew and Duren mathematically graded out with an A rather than just a B+.
Overall: B+
We already mentioned how Detroit as a group is excelling in this third quarter of the season. They are 21-9 in 2025, which is 2nd best in the East, and fourth in the NBA. They are 10-1 in their last 11 and JB Bickerstaff was just named as the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.
But what’s been the most promising has been how everyone around Cade, rather than just Cade himself has improved and played winning basketball. This team is playing together, for one another, and was extremely close to garnering an A grade. In the end, it was a few lower grades from guys who play lesser minutes who brought the grade down slightly, but that’s not to take away what this team is doing. The Play-In game is now firmly in the rearview mirror, and a home playoff series is on the horizon. We’ll check in once more after the final quarter of the season, before any playoffs begin, to see how the Pistons finished out the year.