The Detroit Pistons came out red hot and beat the Phoenix Suns in the second of two preseason games against the Western Conference powerhouse.
Tobias Harris was back after a bout of COVID and made an immediate impact on both ends, with he and Cade Cunningham accounting for 47 combined points.
It wasn’t all good, as the Pistons shot just 25 percent from the 3-point line and had a couple of scoring droughts, but the good news is that they won anyway.
Of course, it’s only preseason so none of this matters, but when you are a young team trying to build positive vibes after a catastrophic season, everything matters.
The Pistons won, so let’s focus on positives for this installment of preseason overreactions.
The Detroit Pistons are a play-in team!
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. The Pistons aren’t always going to shoot like they did in the first quarter. The Suns weren’t playing all of their guys. It’s preseason, etc...But you can see how it could work.
The Pistons have more spacing, an improved looking defense, clear roles for everyone and a better bench than they did last season, that much is already obvious. They are going to win more than 14 games.
When you look at the Eastern Conference, there are six teams that are very likely to make the playoffs in Boston, NY, Philly, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Indiana. You have two more likely candidates in Orlando and Miami.
Then you have the rest.
There will be seven teams fighting for two play-in spots, two of which are tanking. The Bulls got worse, the Hawks are still mediocre and the Raptors and Hornets are in similar positions roster-wise to the Pistons.
The Hawks will likely take one of those spots, so the Pistons will really be competing with Chicago, Toronto and Charlotte for the other. There is no reason Detroit shouldn’t be able to hang with those teams and at least be playing meaningful games in the second half of the season for the first time in five years.
It will probably take 35+ wins to do it, so I wouldn’t bet on it, but the Pistons are better.
Cade Cunningham All-Star season loading!
I wasn’t worried about Cade after two poor preseason games, as different players work on different things, but did want to see him play with more pace and urgency, which he did last night.
I love when Cunningham goes fast and makes quick decisions with the ball, either to pull up in the mid-range or take it to the rim. He was more aggressive doing both while grabbing 12 rebounds, which can be a weapon for him starting the break with speedsters like Jaden Ivey, Ron Holland II and eventually Ausar Thompson getting out in transition.
Cunningham was able to go through contact at the rim a few times to finish, which was also nice to see, as it is something he has struggled with.
It was good to see a strong game from Cunningham, who is under some amount of pressure to show he’s that guy after signing the big contract.
Tobias Harris is the best veteran Cade Cunningham has ever played with!
This might not be an overreaction.
Harris came out red-hot last night and showed what he will bring to this team which is efficiency. His shooting is efficient, but he’s also efficient with movement and dribbling, which was on full display last night.
He may not be an elite on-the-ball defender but Harris plays smart defense, doesn’t give any ground and made some nice plays in the passing lane for two steals and a block.
No offense to Jerami Grant and/or Bojan Bogdanovic, but Harris got all of his shots in the flow of the offense, didn’t hold the ball forever or stop it to go one-one-one. Having him on the floor is going to make the Pistons far more settled and dangerous in the half court.
I was looking forward to seeing Cade and Harris together and they didn’t disappoint. I love that Harris is in a bit of revenge mode after a nasty exit from Philly, and can’t wait until the Pistons play the 76ers.
JB Bickerstaff is the answer!
It’s an indictment of Monty Williams that the Pistons already look sharper in three preseason games than they ever did last season.
Even though these are just meaningless preseason games, the effort has been there on the defensive end and the Pistons are sliding into clear roles already.
He’s staggering Cunningham and Ivey so that one of them is always on the floor, and it worked last night when the bench unit was able to hold, then extend the lead with Cunningham and Harris out.
Holland and Stewart are bringing the defensive intensity off the bench and he’s managing to keep shooters on the floor at all times. There is a clear rotation emerging and I don’t think we’ll be seeing 11-12 guys in it like last season.
The Pistons rotation is set!
Ausar Thompson is not back, so nothing is set until he is, as he will likely be starting or playing starter’s minutes off the bench when he does return.
But for now, there is a clear nine-man rotation emerging with a few nuances to work out.
Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren are all going to be in the starting lineup with either Tim Hardaway Jr. or Simone Fontecchio flanking them. I’m hoping it’s the latter but Fontecchio is likely to play more minutes than THJ either way.
That leaves one of those two plus Malik Beasley, Ron Holland and Isaiah Stewart coming off the bench.
That’s not a bad rotation, as coach Bickerstaff can mix and match shooters, defenders and give teams different lead guard looks with Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
Bickerstaff already has a better handle on his rotation, which should benefit the young players with more consistency in clear roles.
Preseason disclaimers aside, this team looks feisty and ready to shake off the stink from last season. They look like they have a vision and a plan, which is something that was lacking under the previous regime.