The Detroit Pistons finished at the top of the Eastern Conference last season, but you wouldn’t know it from the offseason narrative.
The Pistons are once again being underestimated, as they were last season, when most pundits picked them to make modest gains or spin their wheels after a surprise 44-win season.
Instead, the Pistons tacked 16 more wins onto that total, obliterating all preseason predictions.
If some of this sounds familiar, it’s because the exact same narrative is being written now. "The Pistons haven’t done enough. The Pistons need a second star. Last season was a fluke. The East is way better, and the Pistons haven’t kept up."
With all of the focus on other teams in the East, the Pistons are quietly working away, but according to Cade Cunningham, the disrespect just adds fuel to the fire.
Cade Cunningham is ready to prove he’s a legit MVP
In a recent interview with R.org, Cunningham was asked how the team was responding to being an afterthought in the wake of all of the big moves that have happened in the East this offseason. He said,
“I think we got a lot of noise to make,” he said. “And especially people doubting us, like I said, it just adds more fuel to everything.”
One thing the doubters are right about is that the Pistons didn’t make the splashy move many were expecting but instead made modest improvements around the fringes.
That means Cunningham will have to carry the team once again, which he has done every year he’s been in the league after the Pistons have continually failed to get him a co-star.
The Pistons will need Cunningham to be an MVP-caliber player again, and he’s ready to take on that challenge, but at some point, they are going to have to get someone else who can occasionally carry the load, or all of this will catch up to him.
Detroit is set up for a deadline move, but past that, it is going to be more challenging, as the payroll starts to go up.
There is only one metric that matters now for the Pistons
The Pistons won 60 games last season but ultimately flamed out in the second round after nearly losing in the first. The playoff struggles were part of the impetus for making the moves they did, as Trajan Langdon realized he needed more 3-point shooting after his bench got killed by Cleveland.
Detroit may not win 60 games next season in an improved East, but that won’t be the number by which they will be judged, as next year will be all about the postseason, and it’s Eastern Conference Finals or bust for Detroit.
The Pistons seem to thrive on being disrespected, so it’s a good thing they’ve been left out of all the talk, as it has given them an edge this summer and reminded them that there is only one way to get into the conversation.
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