The Cavaliers gave the Detroit Pistons the blueprint, but can they follow it?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are built around defense

The Detroit Pistons paid lip service to building around defense this season, but that didn't happen, as they are worse than last season, allowing over 121 points per game, which is 27th in the league.

Defense is down around the league as offense continues to explode, an issue the NBA needs to work on in the offseason.

But when you look at the teams in the top playoff seeds, all of them are good defensively, including the Cavaliers, who allow just 109 points per game, second-best in the league.

Defense is still the path to the playoffs, even in the era of offense.

So how do the Pistons get there?

It starts with their bigs, as Cleveland's defense is built around Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, two versatile defenders who can protect the rim and switch on the perimeter.

The Pistons have one such player in Isaiah Stewart, though he's not nearly as good as either Mobley or Allen and the book is still out on Jalen Duren, who is only 20 years old.

For the Pistons to make a leap, they have to get better on defense and that starts with Duren giving consistent, impactful effort on that end. You could argue that Duren's defense is the single biggest factor when it comes to Detroit turning things around, a lot to put on the shoulders of a kid who isn't old enough to buy a beer.

The Pistons now have some wings in Ausar Thompson and Quentin Grimes who are plus defenders, but until they have those anchors down low, it won't matter.