The Detroit Pistons Have Leveled Up…

The Detroit Pistons Have Leveled Up…

The Detroit Pistons are 13-2 to start the season. Currently on an 11game win streak. There are so many great things to talk about and I want to do that today. And before you negative Nes get into the comment section. Oh Kenny, this is the easiest part of the schedule. So So should we not just talk about the team being the one seed even if they’ve gone against easy competition? No. Because I think part of leveling up as a basketball team is looking at an inferior team and busting their ass. And I feel like that’s exactly what the Detroit Pistons have been able to do over this 11game win streak. It always blows my mind. And maybe it’s cuz I’m a Bears fan and I’ve seen it a lot on Twitter over the last, I don’t know, month or two. That’s like, well, y’all only beating bad teams. What are we supposed to do? What are we supposed to do? Our schedules are scheduled. You play the team in front of you, you win those games. And that’s exactly what the Detroit Pistons have been able to do. I thought that when Kate Cunningham went down an injury and they said he’s going to be out for a couple games, like, oh, okay, this has been a cool story at this time. their sevengame win streak, but they’re about to maybe lose a couple of games. No, they’ve been able to continue on path on the defensive side of the ball and other people step up without Kate Cunningham in the lineup. And that’s amazing. Last night they played against the Atlanta Hawks, a team that was actively on the streak as well. They didn’t have Porzingis, Trey Young, and Ree. I say I don’t care. That was my starred game of the day. The game that I gave all my attention to because both of these teams have been playing so well. And DJ Piss walked out of that as winners. And as I’m watching these games, I can’t help but to think about less than two, just less than two years ago, Kay Cunningham goes to the podium after a loss to the Utah Jazz of all teams and says, “We’re not two and 25 bad.” And again, less than two years later, they are the number one team in the East through the first 15 games. Why why did this why did I struggle to do quick math of 13 plus two uh through the first 15 games, they are the number one team by three games. That is something to be extremely proud of, Detroit. But I want to talk about it because K Cunningham has been on another level. Let’s see what these exact stats look like. 27 points per game, nine and nine assists. So, I’m going to say 10 assists and five rebounds. Um, and right now, I would guess that if the season were to end, he’d be clutch player of the year, I would say, because he’s been averaging like 12 12 points in the fourth quarter. Even last night against Atlanta, he had a couple big shots down the stretch. So, he has been incredible, but it has not been a oneman show. And I feel like that’s what’s one of the reasons why they have leveled up. One of the biggest criticism about the orchestration of the Detroit Pistons is that it really is Kay Cunningham as the sole creator of this team. And if Kay Cunningham happens to have an off night where he happens to go against a defense that really schemes against him, the team is kind of dead in the water beforehand. That’s not necessarily the case anymore. They lose Dennis Shruder and it’s like, man, he was so good for us on the second half of the season and before the season even starts, Jay Nivey goes down and injures well. So it’s like, oh my god, it’s all K Cunningham. And you saw that at the beginning of the season, their season opener versus the Chicago Bulls. They struggled when Kate Cunningham wasn’t on the floor. The Bulls went on huge runs without Kade there. But then they found a guy. They found a guy currently on a two-way. My boy Dennis Jenkins who right now is averaging 12 points per game, but that don’t tell the full story. Last night he has 14 as a starter alongside K Cunningham. But he started three games where Kade was injured against Indie, against Philly, and against Chicago. 18 points and 12 against Chicago. 19-8 versus Philly and then 26-8 versus the Indiana Pacers. And I don’t know if this is because both of these guys are on top of mind right now. And maybe this is a a crazy comparison because one of these teams is maybe the greatest team of all time defensively and all, but I’m looking at what AJ Mitchell is doing over there in OKC. And I looked at this again smaller sample size again with Dennis Jenkins and say they are providing similar things. Not in the exact same way. Uh, I think AJ is a better defender and I think, you know, they have their different quirks about their game and all, but having a guy like Dennis Jenkins that can just get two feet into the paint, get into flow to range and break down defense and put teams in rotation is a huge plus because without K Cunningham on the floor, they really didn’t have that. And again, this is a two-way guy that has made a name for himself over the last couple weeks and it’s insane. The big shot in the game versus Washington and then has a 24-point performance there as well. So, he just adds a whole different dynamic and a whole different element. And though Sar Thompson was coming back from the ankle, I felt pretty good when I loaded up and saw that he was starting alongside K Cunningham because yeah, they kind of could use a secondary creator in a lot of those lineups. I mean, the dude is kind of relentless and it’s it’s so insane to see a guy like him because I I mean, I knew him from a video of 2K I shot like two weeks ago. Before that, I didn’t know who the hell he was. And for him to just be on a two-way and last year he just his stats were not good in this limited amount of minutes. For him to give that opportunity and just be like, “Yeah, no, I’m actual NBA player just like that is insane because he wasn’t playing. He literally wasn’t playing through the first two weeks of the season.” Literally DMPS or um we’re up by 20. Put Jenkins in the game. And now it’s like, man, you just went from a DMP one night to playing 30 to 40 to 30 minutes per game. That’s insane. And it comes at a perfect time for them. huge positive he is. I think the number one surprise though, even more surprising than the Dennis Jenin minutes and being good is Jaylen Duran is real life playing at a not just an all he’s playing at an allNBA level. It is 20 points per game. It is 12 rebounds. And I love the fact that in those three games where it was no K Cunningham, he was still able to have ridiculous performances. Yes, one of them is against the Indiana Pacers who might have the worst center core in all of basketball. But for him to go out there and have 31 and 15 and the one that went super viral, him bringing the ball up the court, sizing Jay Huff up and hitting a mid-range jumper, that was just not who he was on both sides of the floor, he has completely leveled up. One thing I admire about maybe it’s just a JB Bickerstaff thing or or maybe um it’s just these bigs here in Detroit. A lot of the times they just get down court and they’re se they seal their man and just waiting for a touch four feet away from the basket and there’s not many people in the league that are stronger than I than uh Jaylen Duran or Isaiah uh Stewart. So when they get that ball it’s like over my left shoulder. I’m just going to put the ball in the paint. That happened at least four times last night against the Atlanta Hawks where it was semi-transition between the Detroit Pistons and it’s like big fella give me the ball down low and I’mma make it work. And they just been doing that, killing the glass and just being great defensively. I think the offensive leap is what’s going to, you know, get people talking about Jaylen Duran a lot more. But I really think the defensive side of the ball is the bigger surprise because there were times last season where I just genuinely questioned whether or not he could be a full-time fiveman because the way he was covering defenses in the pick and roll, it just wasn’t good. He’d have stretches where it’s like, “Oh yeah, there he is. There’s the guy that is uber athletic and super fast on his feet for his size and other times like he’s just completely lost in the pick and roll.” That is not the case anymore. teams even just last year in the postseason. Jay uh Jaylen Brunson was like, “Hey, bring Jaylen Duran in this pick and roll and we going to cook off of it.” I mean, maybe that could happen, you know, in a seven game series again, but teams are more reluctant to do that now because you just can’t score as often out of it. I guess some of the stats u Piss’s opponents are scoring a minuscule 0.82 points per play when Jaylen Duran is defending a ball screen. Less than one point per possession when Jaylen Duran is guarding the screen. That’s nuts. And I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I know Isaiah Stewart gets the rap of being this this hothead um uh dirty player, and he does have some, but it I’m not taking that away. But I think because of that, it overshadows how great of a defensive player he really is. And I know we’re talking about Stewart, but I promise we going to get to him. But in this game, it got to the point where Jaylen Duran was being such a menace defensively and blowing up actions where Congo that the Atlanta Hawks had just opted to let Anaka Congo sit in the corner. Now, he has been a great three-point shooter this season, which is amazing, but they just wanted Jaylen Duran away from the ball as much as possible. And right here, you see Naz Walker trying to give it to Jaylen Johnson. And Jaylen Duran completely leaves in Yaka. Now, this is probably a pass that Jaylen Johnson should make, but still blows up the play and the Sar Thompson’s there to rip it up, which is something he did a lot last night. This is literally the next possession. Jaylen Duran comes down, he scores off that steal from a Sar Thompson. He hustles his butt down court. This is semi-transition for the Atlanta Hawks of four minutes left. just completely blows up another layup attempt and that was off Dyson Daniel’s toe and it’s their ball. Here’s a play that stood out to me when it comes to Isaiah Stewart’s defense. Um they’re going to get Jaylen Johnson the ball top of the key kind of, you know, see the situation. One minute left, down by four, put the ball in your best players hands. Here’s a little screen and try to get a switch. Doesn’t happen. Isaiah Stewart goes under that and just there to contest at the rim and retain the board. Like these dudes are just amazing. I mean, I could look at this stuff all day, but Isaiah Stewart is just he’s he’s a lot quicker on his feet than I think he gets credit for. Here’s a screen from Yaka Congo. Again, the Yaka Congo is shooting like 40% from three. He’s shooting like eight threes a game in the last couple. So, he’s been like really on it. So, here’s a little heads right there. Boom. He gets back to like that’s a lot of space to cover for Yaka Congo. He gets back enough to uh to make him drive it and then boom, turnover forced. And this is from a few games ago. I’m just these are four clips that we just put together. Boom. There’s a great close out for a block. And all of these are like stocks and blocks. So it’s not, you know, some crazy. There’s a lob tip. No, no, thank you. I just want y’all to just watch Isaiah Stewart. There’s three pist pacers there. Boom. Keeps the ball in bounds. Comes through. Nimhar missed that. Next one. It’s just like Tony Bradley got a lot of touches in this one. And that again, that’s another indication of this T not being very good. But boom, meet him at the rim right there. Easy. Now this next one, if I’m not mistaken, is the big one where he comes up with multiple stops by himself. Again, not a great Pistons team. I mean, uh, Pacers team. Who cares? Who cares? This is just like something that translates. It’s just something that translates. Boom. Just just cutting things off. Jarus Walker trying to get baseline. No. 28 is there. Cut it off. Get it to Bradley. Nope. Bump it to him. Nope. That’s Isaiah Stewart down there, baby. It ain’t happening. And it’s not just all blocks and steals. It’s good positioning. It’s using the the his body to cut off drives. Again, they’re just doing an amazing thing. And to have the identity of a defensive oriented team while also having a closure like K Cunningham, it is a really good recipe. I haven’t mentioned the name Duncan Robbins who has fit like a glove over these last couple weeks as he’s finding himself in Detroit. We knew him when he played in Miami as a guy that played a lot more on ball um doing like handoffs because that was the Miami Heat thing over the last couple seasons and they’re starting to incorporate that more in Detroit and he’s really found himself a little bit there. So, it’s been great. It’s been really good, y’all. Javvante Green, a guy that is I’ve always been a fan of Woo since his time in Chicago, has been able to pack some punch off the bench on both sides of the floor. So, this Piston team has been cool. They have been very fun. And again, not thinking too much big picture about where they sit in the standings or where they will sit in the standings at the end of the season. I’m looking at their upcoming schedule. It’s not like things get super super difficult. The Bucks will be without Giannis on Saturday. They just paid the played the Pacers and got that win. The Celtics, I think, above 500 now. So, I guess above 500 team, the Magic are putting it together. So, that’s the game we’re really looking out for. Same thing with the Miami Heat. But, for the most part, they’re not going to get super juggernauts. These are all games that they will be in in my opinion. Um, so who knows? Like, we legitimately might get to the beginning of the calendar year in 2026, and the Pistons are still the number one seed. That’s crazy. One of the questions we got asked on numbers on the board yesterday is, can the Detroit Pistons win the Eastern Conference? And I said, yeah, they can. Now, would I put money on it? probably not, but they you can’t tell me that they can’t cuz it’s not as like there is an OKC in this conference, right? Um the Knicks have looked good on the offensive side of the ball. They still got a lot to figure out defensively. The Cavs are still trying to figure it out as well. Hopefully Darius Garland’s tow injury is is done somewhat soon because that’s when they look the most complete with Darius Garland is there. And we just watched this Detroit Piston team before taking this next jump, if you will, have a really competitive series against that Knicks team. Uh now we got a new coach over there with the Knicks, so maybe that matters. But it’s possible. Like this went from a team in my mind that before the season started again, cool playoff team, maybe get out of the first round to like I could see the stars aligning where they’re in the conference finals. It’s nuts. It’s It’s a 20 uh first year anniversary of the Malice of the Palace to um and I saw something. Let me see if this is still the case. Hold on. Okay, so that was just a straight up lie. That’s why you fact checked for yourself cuz somebody said that over the last 10 years the NBA has not scheduled the Detroit Pistons to play on this day because they’re afraid. Anyway, um they played there like two years ago on this day. Um Detroit Piston basketball looking good, fun watch, great defense, good coaching, and they were two and 25 less than two years ago. That’s crazy.

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