OUTMUSCLE: Detroit Pistons MAUL Hawks – Can Any Eastern Conference Team Hang With Detroit?

OUTMUSCLE: Detroit Pistons MAUL Hawks – Can Any Eastern Conference Team Hang With Detroit?

The Detroit Pistons moved to 20 and5 on the season after a dominant blowout win over the Atlanta Hawks, who they’ve now beaten three times. And I now ask the question, is there any team in the Eastern Conference that the Detroit Pistons should be worried about? You are Locked on Pistons, your daily Detroit Pistons podcast, part of the Locked On. Your team every day. What’s the deal? Welcome back to another episode of the Locked On Pistons podcast. Per usual, I am your host Cahill. I’ve been covering the Detroit Pistons for the last four years. Ban credential media member over the last three years. I appreciate all of you guys who make Locked On Pistons your first listen of every single day. We are free available on all your podcast platforms. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel at Locked OnPistons. Hit that subscribe button or leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to this on. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit vandal.com and place your NFL in live bets all season long. Also want to thank you guys for making the locked on podcast network the number one sports podcast network in America. And also if you’re interested in joining the Pistons or the Locked on Pistons, I should say new Discord. Or if you want also get Locked on Pistons ad free, you guys can head over to lockedonpistons.supcast.com or you can check the description down below where you’ll hear more about that a little later in the podcast. But let’s go ahead and talk about this game. The Pistons dominate, absolutely obliterate the Atlanta Hawks. Later on, we’ll talk about why this game was good for Jaden Ivy. And then also, we’ll answer the question, is there anyone scary in the Eastern Conference? Is there anyone that the Detroit Pistons need to be worried about in the East after moving to 20 and five and extending their lead on the first seed? But let’s start with just breaking down this game. If I’ve said this now a few times. I said this in the the game night short that we have. If you’re not checking out locked on game night after every game night, make sure you guys are checking that out, too. But I said this in the short and I was like, if there’s anybody that ever asked you uh a person outside of Detroit or someone in Detroit is maybe not watching the Pistons, anyone asks you a question like, “I hear the Pistons are super physical. I hear the Pistons are, you know, a very strong um physically imposing team. C can you show me an example of of them dominating a team like that offensively, not maybe with outside jumpers, not with just hitting threes, but with just physically imposing their will on a team for an entire game. Can you show me an example of that? Play them this entire game. This entire game, the Pistons just completely bullied the Atlanta Hawks. I don’t know how else to say it. Jaylen Durren just bullied them inside. Even Isaiah Stewart, who led them in scoring in this game with 17 points, was bullying them. You had Isaiah Stewart out here doing things I ain’t never seen him do. He was going ISO between the legs, driving to the basket, giving one bump, knocking the dude back, and then just being able to lay it up easy at the rim. He was just dominating them inside with his strength. Assaar had a few crazy drives where he just pushes a guy around. Even Tobias was pushing guys around when he got to the paint. K. Cunningham was getting to the paint at will. Caris, same thing. Ron Holland got to the paint over and over and over again. Got six free throws tonight in just 24 minutes of action. I mean, every player that contributed to this win, physically imposed their will on the Atlanta Hawks. some of the numbers that really back this up. The Pistons had 72 72 points in the paint. Just crazy. They they they the Hawks had no answer for the Detroit Pistons when they got to the paint. They just didn’t match they they don’t match up physicalitywise. They don’t have anyone that can stop them from getting to the paint. And the Pistons made sure they felt that all night long. They also dominated them in transition. They had 30 fast break points. The Hawks seven. Their largest lead was 35. And you want to talk about the depth of this team? The Pistons had 77 bench points. More than half of their points were from their bench. The starters didn’t even have to play. Pistons had eight players in this game score double figures. They had 11 players score eight plus. Marcus Sasser came in for the final four man scored seven. They got contributions from the entire roster in this win against the Atlanta Hawks. There was a number that I thought was I don’t think NBA.com has it yet for me. Actually, you know what? Forget NBA.com. We’re going to go to pivot fade. There was a number they said during the broadcast that that that I just didn’t believe. I was like, “No way.” And then when you look at it, you’re like, “Oh my god.” Okay, fair enough. Another number that just shows how much the Pistons were imposing their will on the Atlanta Hawks. At halftime, at halftime, the Hawks only had six free throws. They had six free throws. The Pistons had four, eight, 12, 15, 17, 19 free throws at half. They had 14 more free throws than the Atlanta Hawks did at halftime. So, not only did they pummel them in the paint with points in the paint, obviously outscoring them by 22 in the paint, not only did they dominate them in transition, getting out on the fast break, turning them over. The Hawks had 20 turnovers in this game. The Pistons only had 12, they also were forcing them to follow them and and earn points at the free throw line because they couldn’t stop them once they got into the paint. And this was just a again, like I said, if you ever wanted to show someone a game where the Pistons just out physical the team and just showcase their strength over another team, I mean, this was the game right here. Th I mean, this was this was crazy. This was crazy to see. And after five after a really good week of week break, five days of rest, got to practice, the Pistons looked like the team we had seen for the first uh what you want to say 16, 17, 18, 18 games. We talked about how over the last like sixes sixish, my goodness, what did I just say? Sixish. What is that? Um the last sixish games that they didn’t look like themselves. they return the ball over an an absurd amount. We talked about how they were 30th in turnover percentage last in the NBA after being in the middle of the pack. How their defense had fallen off a little bit and how their offense really had fallen off a cliff over those last six games where the Pistons were what, four and three, three and three over the last six games. And in this game, they looked like that team we had all grown accustomed to to start the season during the win streak. They didn’t turn the ball over. Kate didn’t turn the ball over. He only had one turnover in this game. They dominated defensively. They had 16 steals in this game. They got out on the break. Kay didn’t have to force the issue offensively. He played like a floor general game. Even in just the 22 minutes of action he got to play because the Pistons were up by so much their starters didn’t have to play anymore. In those 22 minutes, he wasn’t forcing the issue scoring for himself. the Hawks were decided to guard him a certain type of way and he was just picking them apart and letting his teammates take advantage of the way the Hawks were guarding Kade. Just just very um like a pick and roll maestro. He was just a general out there never making mistakes. The Pistons got a good shot every half court possession. It felt like just a just a very CP3 like game from K Cunningham. Also, while having an impact on the defensive end, he had two steals and two blocks. Jaylen Duran was fantastic. 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal. He only had to play 24 minutes. Assar had probably one of his best quarters of the year with what he did in the third quarter. It was a nine-point game in the third. And Assar just completely dominated that third quarter on the both ends of the floor. Had two of the best drives I’ve ever seen him have. One with a euro step with the left hand and one with a euro step on break. um some of the best drives I’ve seen him have. He had 12 points, six rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and an assist on five of N9 shooting. Those guys were great. Duncan Robinson, I mean, I’ll go ahead and debut this take right now. Uh in the Discord, we talked about this a little bit during the game. I said I would mention it on the podcast. Um yeah, I’m pretty comfortable saying that Duncan should not be taking out the starting lineup at any point this season. at any point. I like and I understand everyone loves Jay Ivy and we’ll talk about Jane Ivy later who I thought this game was great for, but the Pistons so very clearly need what Duncan Robinson puts on the floor and he has been so good for them. So, I would argue he’s been better than Malik in THCA. He’s been a great three-point shooter, but what he’s bringing as someone who can drive off of DHO’s, off of closeouts, and then make these make these uh passing reads, keep the ball moving, and then keep moving after he releases the pass, rotate around, get to the opposite corner. Like what he’s done for the Pistons, he has been fantastic. The Pistons are 8 point or are 8.1 points better with him on the floor this year. They have a they have a plus 8.3 net rating with him on the floor. They’ve been dominant in his minutes. He’s been great. He’s been absolutely exceptional. And I feel like he kind of just gets no one really talks about him. People kind of just like accept what he is. And I’m I’m sitting here watching the games like, “No, I like we need to talk about how good he’s been. He’s trying on defense. He’ll get targeted on defense, but he’s trying. He had a two really good rotations in the first half. One for a closeout and one he took a charge at the rim, which was really nice to see. But offensively, the the movement that he creates for the Pistons offense, he’s not stationary. He’s constantly moving. The playmaking chops that he’s bringing from that position is something the Pistons just didn’t have last year at THA or Malik. He brings the shooting gravity and the shot making that he has or that they had last year while also providing playmaking and ability to drive a closeout, drive to the rim, and then make the right read. I mean, he’s been fantastic. He’s been fantastic. I don’t know how you ever take him out the starting lineup this year. He He’s just been great. and they’re reaching their peak form with the starting lineup. They’re they’re they’re playing great. So that that’s was something I wanted to make sure I stood 10 toes on. Duncan’s been fantastic. He’s been fantastic. And that starting lineup now of Cade, Osar, Jaylen Duran, Tobias, they are a plus 8.7 in 130 minutes play together. Like they’re he’s been so good for them. He’s been so good. anything you could have imagined him to be when they signed him to that contract in the offseason, he has absolutely surpassed it. He’s been great. Coming up though, Jayen Ivy, I thought this game was absolutely perfect for him and I think that it could it could mean very good things for him moving forward. The fact that he got to have this type of game. I’ll explain what I mean coming up. Today’s episode is brought to you by Zach Doc. Guys, it’s 2025, almost 2026. And those days of waiting for something to become a full-blown emergency before you see a doctor, they’re absolutely over. No more walking it off for 6 months. No more pretending that weird shoulder stiffness is just sleeping wrong. It’s time to take your health seriously. And Zach Do makes that easier than ever because staying healthy is more than hitting the gym or eating right. It’s about actually getting things checked out when something feels off. let you com ZD do excuse me allows you to compare providers using real patient reviews and not ads. It makes it simple to keep your health a priority even with a busy schedule. 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You guys are every day to the Locked On Pistons podcast. If you want to join the Locked On Pistons Discord, or if you want to watch, let’s say, or listen, let’s say, to Locked On Pistons with no ads, I know a lot of you guys would love that. If you want access to a locked merch store where you can get locked on merch, you want all of that kind of stuff, you can join the Everyday Club at lockedonpistons.upcast.com. The link will be in the description down below. It’s just $5 a month and you will get to join the Locked On Pistons Discord. Get access to the Locked Onch store and also we’ll be able to watch or be able to listen, excuse me, to Locked On Pistons without all the ads. So check it out description down below. Looking forward to seeing you guys in the Discord. But let’s talk about Jay Nivey who I thought played a really good game against the Atlanta Hawks tonight. He shot five of eight from the floor. had 10 points, four assists, two steals. He only played in 18 minutes and that’s because in the first half he only played three minutes. And in the first half it wasn’t too great for Ivy. He had a play when he just lost the ball dribbling up the floor and turned it over. Wasn’t great. And he only ended up playing three minutes. Dan, he he played the least amount of anybody on the court. Dan Jenkins played more than him. However, I think the Pistons getting up by as much as they did was the best case scenario for Jay Ivy, for a player that is working back into the rotation, who’s working back to getting full speed, working back all that confidence, working back everything after being out for so long and coming back into a team that is that is playing so well, trying to find your way. I think this is if if if this game served anyone the most purpose, it was Jane Ivy. Like, yeah, Cade, uh, Jaylen, Jaylen, Duran, Assar, you know, Tobias, Duncan, all these guys probably enjoyed only having to play 20 minutes. I’m sure they enjoyed getting basically felt like the night off and get some early rest along with the fiveday rest they had before. Yeah, I’m sure it was great for them. That that’s a big deal, too. But Jane Ivy, someone who has a lot of pressure on him. He’s playing in a contract here. He’s trying to prove that he can impact a team that’s that was playing great without him. Let’s just be real. A team that was playing a tremendous without him. Trying to come back without messing things up. Trying to find his way to kind of fit in while also impacting the way he can without messing things up. He’s trying to get back to full speed himself. trying to get back to full like NBA stamina, NBA conditioning, trying to knock the rust off. All again while being in a contract year, and also trying to just fit in. And that can be, I’m sure it can be tough to do, tough to handle, struggle to deal with, especially in games where they’re close. And every possession, every minute matters. Every minute that matters, every possession that matters. It makes it extremely more uh difficult, I would say. and the pressure feel even more so on his shoulders to not mess up this position, not turn the ball over, take the right shot, you know, play do what I’m supposed to do, all that kind of stuff. It it it weighs I would think on any player that’s in this situation Ivy is when again the team’s playing so well and you don’t want to mess up. But for the fact the Pistons got up by so much, I felt like in this second half, in this third quarter, especially in this fourth quarter, Ivy kind of had all that lifted off of them because every possession didn’t matter as much. There wasn’t as much pressure to make sure you were doing right every single time. You’re up by 30. You’re up by 35 points. So what if I turn the ball over here? So what if I miss a shot here? I’m gonna play in the next 10 minutes. Sardis ain’t coming back in. It’s not like if I turn the ball over here, we’re going to lose the game. It’s not like if I miss a shot here, they’re calling a timeout because the Hawks are on a run and now we might lose the game and it might be my fault. Like none of that pressure is on his shoulders now. So now I feel like that was the most free we got to see Jane Ivy play. The most free and free flowing that we got to see from Jane Ivy this entire season. And he really got going late in this game. He took advantage of all those minutes. He was getting downhill a ton. Did he miss a few shots? Yeah, he he had one shot where he missed it. uh on a on a mid-range jumper, but he took a multiple mid-range jumpers. He took one step back mid-range jumper. He was getting out in transition. He was driving to the basket. He had one really nice driving kick out. Like, that’s my point. The fact that he had that missed mid-range shot and that didn’t have him like, “Oh god, okay, now I got to step back. I I I don’t want to I don’t want to mess things up.” He doesn’t have to worry about that. He came back down the next possession and drove to the basket and ended up having a kick out a nice kickout pass. So, I I think this could really spell good things for Ivy, hopefully moving forward that he got to have this game where he was like, “Okay, let me just play like myself. Let me just knock this rust off and see prove to myself that I can still do this. Prove to myself that I can play like this without all the stress of not wanting to mess up.” And I thought he was great in the fourth quarter. He had eight points, four or five shooting. I thought he had some really nice defensive possessions, too. He had one defensive possession where he had a the whole team was great on this one defensive possession. They were all doing great rotations. Hawks were driving and kicking. Pistons were rotating perfectly. The crowd got into it. The whole bench then stood up. Ivy rotates down on the short roll. Takes away the short roll away or takes the short roll away, excuse me. And then the Hawks have like a they got open on a left corner three. It misses. The Pistons are scrambling for the defensive rebound. The ball looks like it’s going out of bounds and Jay Ivy dives out of bounds from the sideline, throws it back into the uh into the court uh quarter play and it bounces off Atlanta Hawks and now it’s the Pistons basketball. That was a great defensive play and just an overall great hustle possession from Jane Ivy. Not on the offensive end, but on the defensive end of the floor like he was giving it his all defensive. He was playing some probably some of the most effort I’ve seen him give defensively in that third, fourth quarter as well since he’s come back. I’d say probably the most effort we saw from him defensively. He just looked much more free. He looked much more happy playing in the fourth quarter. He looked much more like himself in the fourth quarter. And the Pistons, if they’re going to, if they’re going to play Ivy and give him this chance to prove that he can be this guy, that’s the kind of guy you need to be seeing. And I think this this could this having this type of game where all the pressure is off of you and all the stress is off and you can just play like yourself and not worry about looking over your shoulder about someone maybe coming in for you or losing your team the game. I think that it’s going to do great things for Ivy. I I I really liked what we saw in the fourth quarter. And it wasn’t like yes it was a blowout game but he was still playing against some of the important players of the Hawks. He was playing against Jaylen Johnson, Tyson Daniels, uh Zachary Ricochet. Like I’m not gonna and Nikquil Alexander Walker who had a fantastic game against the Pistons by the way. Um I’m not gonna sit here and act like you know they were I mean they were down by 30 so I’m not gonna sit here and try and act like they were given absolute most championship level effort. But it also wasn’t like he was just going against benchwmers taking advantage of you know the last player on the team. I I think this was a really good quarter from Ivy and hopefully it turns into it kind of you know bulldozes into another game and kind of just what’s the word I’m looking for? uh snowball. That’s what I’m looking for. Snowball into another good performance where he looks more like himself and plays more freely. Um before I move on to is anyone scary in the East for the Detroit Pistons, I just want to shout out the rest of the bench as well. Caris Levert. Again, I thought I think Caris has been really good for the Pistons. He’s had some rough nights, but I think he’s just been really good majority of the time. 10 points, eight assists, one turnover, three or six shooting. The defense, he had two steals. He continues to be hyperactive on the passing lanes. His length really pops off the screen when you watch them defensively. I just think Harris has been really good. Isaiah Stew, we talked about him earlier. Steu was fantastic. 17 points, led them in scoring. He was crazy good. We talked about Ron Holland. Danis and his minutes. I thought this was the best Danis has looked in a few games as well. Getting to the basket. Um had a nice pull up three as well. Defensively, he always gets after it. Javvante Green with nine points and three steals in his 20 minutes of action. And then Marcus Sasser, even getting to see him at the end of the game and get a few buckets. He gets seven points in just three men or four minutes of action. It’s nice to see him get a chance to try to score out there. I’m still really interested about his situation and what his future looks like. But this was a overall just big team win where the bench it felt like really led the way and and just shifted the game against the Hawks. They just weren’t ready for the punch that the Pistons bench gave them. Ivy had a lot to do with it in the second half. I thought Ron Holland was arguably one of the Pistons’s best players in the first half and Stu just continues to have friend of the podcast Zar Xavier. He he said this on Twitter. Um there’s been a bunch of talk about Jaylen Durren’s leap this year and deservingly so, but I feel like Stu is also making a leap. It’s not going to pop in the box score as much because he’s not that type of player, but his impact, what he’s doing for the Pistons day in and day out, he has been incredible this year. He has been absolutely incredible for the Pistons. This is a very deep team with all of their young guys seemingly taking steps forward. This was a fantastic win, the third win over the Atlanta Hawks. 30 They were up by 35 points at one point in this game. And that leads me to asking this question. Is there anyone in the Eastern Conference that the Detroit Pistons need to be worried about? Or is it just the Pistons and everybody else? We’ll talk about it coming up. New year, new systems, and this is the time when a lot of us look at the messier parts of running a business and think there has to be a better way. And there is. Today’s episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled Quo, the smarter way to run your business communications. If you’re ready to make your workday smoother and keep customers connected with without the headaches. Quo makes upgrading your setup easier than ever. It’s surprisingly easy. You can work from your phone or computer. Keep your existing number and add teammates in minutes. Being able to share one team member makes it so much easier to make sure nothing gets missed. 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There’s only one other team, one other team to have 20 wins this season and that is the greatest team we are ever going to see and that’s the Oklahoma City Thunder who are 24-1 and just look unstoppable. I’m honestly looking forward part of me is really looking forward to the Pistons playing the Thunder because it’s either going to go two ways. the Pistons are going to hold up and make it a game or the Thunder just completely dominate them like they’ve dominated literally everyone they’ve played and we really sit back and think they’re just going to dominate everybody like we might just be sitting back after after the game against the Thunder saying, “Yeah, I don’t think there’s out of the 29 NBA teams, every team might just get dominated by the Thunder this year. This might just be the easiest championship of all time.” Um, but outside of the Oklahoma City Thunder who are over in the Western Conference, so we we we didn’t got to worry about them. They’re over there in the West. Let let you know Denver and Houston worry about that. Um, over here in the East though, the Pistons at the top of the Eastern Conference. They have 20 wins. They’re 20 and five second seed is the 17-7 New York Knicks. The Pistons have defeated the Boston Celtics. They’ve beaten the Orlando Magic. They’ve beaten the Philadelphia 76ers. They’ve now beaten the Hawks three times. They’ve beaten the Milwaukee Bucks. They’ve beaten the Miami Heat. Is there any team in the East that you should look at? And by the way, I went in order just now of the where they are ranked in the standings. Is there any team that the Pistons should be concerned about in the Eastern Conference? This was a question asked to me by D. Lee, who we had on the podcast, the guy who, you know, he covers the Atlanta Hawks, does a great job with the Atlanta Hawks film room as well. I was just on there with him like a week and a half ago breaking down film after the Pistons win over the Hawks last game. Um, but he asked me that on his podcast. He was like, “Do you feel like that the Hawks are a good match up for the Pistons? Like, do you think, you know, what team are you guys do you feel like you you should be really concerned about in the East?” And I was like, I don’t know. I I don’t know if there even is a team that I look at, I’m just like, oh god, the Pistons have to be terrified of them. And now a week and a half later, after reaching 20 wins and dominating the Atlanta Hawks, I sit here and I say the same thing. I don’t know if there’s a team in the East that the Pistons really need to be scared of. Now, are the Pistons just head and shoulders above? Am I trying to say they’re just going to dominate the East? I’m not saying that. But is there a team they need to be like, man, I don’t know if we can beat them? I don’t think so. I don’t know. There’s there’s two teams actually there’s three teams I would throw out there that I’m not if I’m the Pistons I’m not worried about them but though there’s three teams I’d be looking at like okay that’s that’s going to be the comp that that right there is who we’re really going to have to prove we’re better than like we’re when we play them if we play them in the playoffs during the regular season we really need to make a stand because those are the teams that are going to be our comp the New York Knicks who if they get them in the playoffs would be a great rematch series a lot. I feel like the Knicks kind of going under the radar. They have the best net rating in the East. So, they’re playing better than their record suggests. They’re 17 and seven, but they’re a plus 8.6. They have the fourth best net rating in the NBA. So, they’re playing above their record and they’re playing really well. What Mike Brown’s doing over there with New York, they’re playing extremely well. And we know about the talent the Knicks have. And then we know about the superstar they have. The Pistons got the six games last year. So, Knicks would be number one on my list because I think the Knicks are sneakily playing like the same level of of of um they’re playing at the same level, I would say, as the Pistons right now. Their record doesn’t suggest it, but I I think they’re playing really well. So, the Knicks are the first team I’d look at if I’m the Piston, I’m like, “Okay, that’s the comp right there. That’s what we got to look at.” The other team, and I can’t believe I’m saying this. I I before the season I I would never have guessed this. The Boston Celtics, if the Celtics get Tatum back, if they get Tatum back this year, it that would be very worrisome. Now, then I would be pretty worried because right now the Celtics are 15 and 10 with a plus 6.3 net rating. They have a better net rating than the Pistons. Jaylen Brown’s playing fantastic. Payton Pritchard’s been really good. We know about how great of a coach Joe Missoula is. I think the Pistons are a better team than the Boston Celtics. I think they beat them in the playoff series. But if again, they’re the second team I would say in the Eastern Conference that if you had to pick somebody like, “Okay, who’s the comp there?” The Celtics are going to be up there. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but the Celtics are up there. So, I’d be watching them. I want to see the Pistons really punish them next time they play Boston because of how it happened last time they played them. So, I’m looking forward to that. But, if they get Tatum back, that could be a scary team and they’re playing extremely well. And then the final team which is kind of rounding into form even though they just suffered another injury. The other team that I think could be comp for the Pistons are the Orlando Magic. They were playing extremely well before Fran went down. Now I know France is out for a few weeks so that may hurt them. But Desmond Bane is really rounding into form and he’s really looking good. And the Magic as in as a team seem like they’re really starting to pull it together. It was looking rough at the beginning of the year, but they now find themselves with a record of 15 and 10. They find themselves fourth in the East. They’re top 10 in net rating. So, those are the three teams that I would say if I’m in the East, if I’m the Detroit Pistons, I’m looking down at these teams and I’m saying, “Okay, which teams give us would are going to give us the most problems if we play them in the playoffs?” As of right now, if you looked at it right now, I’m not worried about the Sixers at all. Not worried about the Raptors at all. The Cavs look like they’re falling apart. Don’t know what’s going on over there. They look like they’re just falling apart. The Cavs would have been number one usually for me. I feel like they match up really well against the Pistons, but they’re just falling apart. Don’t know what’s going on over there in Cleveland, so I’m not worried about them. Miami, not worried about them. Atlanta, I mean, they’ve dominated them for three games. Not worried about them. Milwaukee, their best player doesn’t even know he even wants to be there. And apparently, half the players think he’s told them that he’s not leaving. Half the players don’t remember him even talking to them. So, who knows what’s going on in Milwaukee. Chicago’s not good. and then the rest of the Eastern Conference is just bad. So, like there’s literally the next three teams are the only teams I think the Pistons need to look at and be like, “Okay, that that that’s a team that we need to be we need to be looking for moving forward.” Outside of that, and honestly, like honestly, if if you really wanted me just to hammer it down to one team, I’d be fine just saying only the Knicks because I feel like the Pistons are better than Boston. Now, that may be like my my priors about Boston before the season kind of weighing through because I thought they were not going to be good and they’ve been really good. So, maybe I’m holding on to me saying before the year they won’t be good. That could be me doing that. But honestly, like I think the Pistons are just flat out better than Boston. If they had to play Boston in seven games, I honestly think think they’d beat him in like five or six games. Like I I don’t I don’t know. Again, I could be that could be just my priors coming through. in Orlando. You guys know I’m not a big fan of Paulo, but I gotta give respect. The last seven or last 10 games, they’re seven and three. Same record as the Pistons. And Desmond Bane is a Piston killer. He He is He’s one of those guys that get put on the Piston killer list. So, I guess I’d go New York and then Orlando as the teams to watch for in the East. But outside of that, the East is wide open and the Pistons look like they’re the best team in the East. They continue to dominate. I’m really looking forward I want to see them so badly. I want to see them play New York. That’s a matchup I’m really looking forward. I want to see them play the Knicks and see how that game measures up. That I think would be an incredibly fun game to watch. But let me know in the comments section down below or on Twitter. Are there any other teams in the Eastern Conference? Do you agree that the Knicks, Celtics, Magic, one of them? Which team in the East, if you’re a Pistons man, you’re looking saying, “Okay, that’s the comp. That’s the team we need to watch for. That’s the one that could be on their level and could take them down if we are not like careful, whatever.” What team in the east are you watching for to be with the Pistons on their level? Let me know. Comment section down below or over on Twitter, Cuckahill. That’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Thank you guys. Make locked on Pistons your first listen every single day. Free up on all your podcast platforms. Hit that subscribe button to YouTube channel. Leave us a fivestar review whatever podcast platform you’re listening to us on. And until next time, I’ll see you guys later. Stay safe out there and peace out everybody.

Detroit Pistons overpower Atlanta Hawks with their imposing physicality—are they the Eastern Conference’s team to beat? Ku Khahil breaks down the Pistons’ dominant victory, spotlighting Jalen Duren’s interior presence, Isaiah Stewart’s breakout scoring, and Duncan Robinson’s essential role in the starting lineup. With 72 points in the paint and 77 points off the bench, Detroit showcased its elite depth and relentless pace, raising questions about which—if any—Eastern Conference rivals can truly challenge them.

Key analysis covers Jaden Ivey’s confidence-building performance, the evolving chemistry among Pistons’ starters, and the team’s improved ball security and defense. Ku Khahil evaluates contenders such as the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Orlando Magic, while considering the Pistons’ playoff odds and potential vulnerabilities. Can Detroit maintain its grip on the conference, or will a surging opponent rise to the occasion? Don’t miss this deep dive into the Pistons’ path to Eastern dominance.

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