“New Look” Detroit Pistons Are Title Contenders!

“New Look” Detroit Pistons Are Title Contenders!

It feels like the Bad Boy Pistons are back. Currently first in the Eastern Conference and the main ingredient to their success starts on the defensive end of the floor. If you look through their rotation outside of sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, everyone else is a plus defender. However, for what he is, he’s also giving it his all on that end to which he really isn’t a huge negative. And outside of him, they just have so many guys who are willing to pressure the basketball and nobody you can pick out and attack with confidence. They assert themselves as a team. They dictate the physicality of the game and do the pushing around. They force you off your spot. They make you uncomfy. One thing is clear, when you line up against Detroit right now, you better bring force or effort. And if you don’t, they will punk you. It’s that simple. And I think this idea is why you see them winning games even short-handed without Cade and Duran. You have to give tons of credit to JB Bickerstaff, probably the front runner for coach of the year right now because every player is playing with so much confidence, so much effort and toughness and freedom. You could tell they are together on the same page and that stuff matters. I believe it’s been a catalyst for the early season success. Also, this team has size and length everywhere at every position. And most teams, they have that advantage over and it’s resulting in them winning the rebounding battle most nights. Top five in offensive rebounding and top 10 in offensive rebounding percentage as a team. And consistently on defense, they just destroy actions. They have so many switchable defenders. Meaning, if someone’s a bit behind, no worries. Just switch. Assar Thompson leads this group. He most likely will make an offdefensive team. But then you got Javvante Green. And let me tell you, he really sets the tone. In my opinion, he’s probably the most underrated piece on the team for outsiders because he reminds me of an old school safety in the NFL where he’s just there to blast the opponent, catch them off guard. I know, odd comparison, but if you watch him, you would probably understand. He really out hustles everyone. I think it’s infectious for the whole entire team. Then you got other guys like Ron Holland, Dennis Jenkins. They will guard multiple positions and they have that same mentality. My point is their roster from top to bottom is filled with defensive first hustle guys. All of them play with their hair on fire. Plus Kate Cunningham, the superstar of the team, he’s completely bought in defensively. He can guard any position in a pinch. Then you have great rim protection behind the perimeter defense. Jaylen Duran, Isaiah Stewart, both elite in that category. And even Paul Reed has stepped up a ton. The talent and buyin on the defensive side from this group has resulted in the second best defense in defensive rating, third in steal percentage, and third in block percentage. Now, I want to talk about the offense a little bit. I want to focus on the duo of Cade and Jaylen Duran. They’re truly taking another step. Cade is consistently causing double teams. He’s handling them better than ever. 9.9 assists per game while just averaging 3.6 turnovers per game. As a result, Jaylen Duran is feeding off of that. He’s averaging 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds per game. It turns out he’s averaging 1.55 points per possession as a role man in the pick and roll. Meaning he’s one of the best play finishers in the sport when you attract all the attention to Cade and then add a dish to him. But this season, he’s also making a leap where he’s much more than a play finisher. The confidence is oozing out of him. He just brings so much versatility to the table. You see him grab a rebound, push it up the court like he’s a point guard, crave for himself or others. He will drive past or shoot over the opposing center in the half court when they have nothing going on. He’s saving possessions like that. It’s crazy to witness. He’s truly a unicorn at just the age of 21. The offense isn’t ranked as great as the defense, 13th in offensive rating to be exact. However, they’ve matured and they have calmed down and I’m sure experiencing the playoffs probably has something to do with that. It probably helped build their confidence. They have played in 10 clutch games, third most in the NBA. They have an insane none record. Guess what? Last season they were dead last in win percentage in clutch games. They currently have the best offensive rating in the clutch. And mostly because of Cade. He’s averaging 11 points in the fourth quarter, which leads the NBA for players who have played at least five games. Also, 2.2 assists with just 0.2 turnovers. Icing on the cake. Insane efficiency when it matters most. 53% from the field and 47% from three. This is a big jump for him. He struggled in the playoffs closing games at times. And all of last season, he shot 43% from the field and 31% from three in the fourth quarter. Also, 1.9 assists to 1.3 turnovers. He needed to improve in this area, and that’s exactly what’s happening. Teams so far have no answer for him in the clutch. And how about Dennis Jenkins? I I mean, he came out of nowhere. Last five games, he’s averaging 20.2 points, 7.6 assists per game. He’s doing it efficiently. 50% from the field, 44% from three, and he does everything on the basketball court. He can self-create, and he’s one of the main reasons they can compete without Cade. He can make that pocket pass just like Kade to Jaylen Duran with ease. And then defensively, he just pressures nonstop. The Pistons really found a gem. And the Pistons also have a lineup that they didn’t have last season, aka the double big duo of Jaylen Duran and Isaiah Stewart. Last season they played a total of 8 minutes together already. This season they have played 110 minutes together on the court while having success plus 17.5 net rating. I I mean this team is just more dynamic in my opinion than they were last season. We also must mention Duncan Robinson. He really helps down the stretch of games because he’s been there, done that. He’s been a clutch shooter throughout his entire career. He’s played in so many playoff games, even the NBA finals. He elevates the offense. The Pistons with him on the floor have 120.2 offensive rating. That’s good for a top five offense. Without him in the minutes, it drops down to 114.5, aka bottom half of the league. He’s not a guy that you can run your offense through the entire game, but he’s certainly a guy that you can run your offense through for stretches in the dribble handoff situation or just running them off screens and things of that nature. He has real gravity. Defenses really respect him. He’s putting up 7.3 three-pointers per game while shooting 42% from three. He’s just a really annoying factor right now for the Pistons because everyone is so worried about Kade. Everyone’s so worried about Jaylen Duran as a roller. Then all of a sudden, Duncan Robinson is getting his flying off screens, receiving dribble handoffs, shooting four-pointers. He’s also shooting 54% from the two-point range and two assists per game while only averaging.7 turnovers. So, when you do run him off the three-point line, he’s still a threat to score or create. He can really do it all offensively as a complimentary player. And when you have the structure to hide his deficiencies defensively, he’s just so valuable. I remember so many times during the Heat’s finals run, he would, you know, carry for like five minute stretches with Bam and a bio just running off screens and hitting three-pointers. It was devastating off the bench for them. And a lot of people just kind of forgot about that when the Pistons signed him. I actually made a video talking about how I think it’s one of the more underrated additions. And I want to also give JB Bickerstaff credit because I believe he’s empowered Duncan Robinson and really given him a lot of freedom and confidence and really let him loose. I feel like there was a real scenario where he kind of just used him as a bench player, a standstill shooter, and then all of a sudden he loses his confidence. He’s out of rhythm all the time. Then he gets lost in the shuffle and he’s looking like a massive overpay. I’m telling you, it’s very easy not to get value out of these types of players because most of their value is on offense. So, if that slips, it’s easy to pull the plug. But so far, Detroit has used him perfectly and he’s playing with so much confidence. And not only that, they have a lot of confidence in him, too.

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