There weren’t many in the national media who believed in the Detroit Pistons as a true title contender before Cade Cunningham got hurt, but now that he is out, they are being completely written off, which could eventually work to their advantage.
Even though the Pistons have led the Eastern Conference for nearly the entire season, most pundits still put the Knicks, Cavaliers and now Celtics ahead of them to come out of the conference.
The Pistons don’t have enough experience, they don’t have enough shooting, they don’t have a true second star. Detroit has been hearing this all season and just keeps winning.
Most recently, it was insider Marc Stein who said the Pistons were no longer in the title discussion with Cade Cunningham out but made sure to add that they weren’t really in it anyway.
I’ve heard a lot of, “The Pistons don’t stand a chance without Cade but never really did anyway” types of discussion over the last few days, which should provide the Pistons with ample bulletin board material.
No one believes in the Detroit Pistons
As the playoffs get closer, Detroit is the team everyone assumes will have an early exit, especially now that Cade Cunningham is hurt.
I’ve never seen anyone claim that being the #1 seed was a BAD thing before this season, but suddenly every eight seed is a huge threat, mostly because no one believes in the Pistons.
They are used to it, and tend to respond to this type of thing, so I hope we head into the playoffs with everyone banking on a first-round upset for the Pistons and no one picking them to win the conference.
Coach JB Bickerstaff has masterfully used the “no one believes in us” angle all season, and this is a team that takes that kind of stuff personally. You don’t fluke your way into 50+ wins, and the Pistons will be champing at the bit to show they are for real just as everyone is writing them off.
Cade Cunningham can still return
The Cade Cunningham injury news was nothing short of devastating, but this can still have a happy ending.
We’ll see where Cade is in two weeks and if he has progressed as hoped, he could easily be back before the playoffs start.
I don’t think the pundits are suddenly going to change their tune, but it’s far too premature to write off this team when their best player still has a shot at returning to full strength before the playoffs.
I am sure there are teams right now hoping they get a shorthanded Pistons team in the first or second round of the playoffs, but be they should be careful what they wish for, as Detroit has thrived on being underestimated this season and tends to step up most when things look bleak.