TORONTO — The first time J.B. Bickerstaff watched a scrimmage as coach of the Detroit Pistons in September 2024, he immediately recognized their core group’s depth and connectivity.
Wednesday’s wire-to-wire 113-95 road win over the Toronto Raptors, which sent Detroit into the All-Star break with a 40-13 record and a 5 1/2-game lead atop the Eastern Conference, exemplified those key traits. The Pistons were without Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, who were serving the first game of their two- and seven-game suspensions stemming from Monday’s brawl with the Charlotte Hornets.
But thanks to that same cohesion Bickerstaff quickly identified, the Pistons have notched the franchise’s second-best record heading into the break, behind only the 2005-06 team that went 42-9 en route to an Eastern Conference finals appearance. Wednesday’s win was emblematic of how crucial the Pistons’ players bond is to their success.
“Their willingness to trust each other, play for each other and celebrate one another is the primary reason that we’re here where we are,” Bickerstaff said. “These guys have put all individual motives to the side and bought in completely to something greater than themselves. We’ve won games simply because of that.
“That’s why we’ve won the amount of games we’ve won and continued to get better … Because the guys are bought in. They don’t feel like they’re finished; they’re all hungry to grow. And they want to do it together.”
Paul Reed personifies that mentality. He’d averaged 12.2 minutes per game entering this matchup, but because he prepares daily like a starter, he stepped right into Duren’s spot at center and dropped 22 points to go with five rebounds, four blocks, three steals and three assists in his seventh start of the season.
Similar to Reed’s instant impact in Monday’s win, he posted a first-quarter career high of 16 points and nearly outscored the Raptors through the first 12 minutes on his own.
“My minutes aren’t always consistent,” Reed said. “But I know my teammates and coaches are expecting me to come in and be ready. They trust that that’s what I’m going to do, so I take pride in my preparation.”
Reed said this is the closest group he’s been a part of in his six-year NBA career. The only teams he could think of that have rivaled Detroit’s chemistry were his college and high school teams. Cade Cunningham — who poured in a game-high 28 points, nine assists, seven boards and three steals while hitting on 6 of 11 of his 3-point attempts — echoed his big man’s sentiments.
“The competitive spirit is something we all really connected over on the court,” Cunningham said as Lil Wayne blared on the locker-room speakers. “Then taking the time off the court to hang out and build deeper relationships with each other, I think that’s heightened the trust and heightened the care around each other. … Top to bottom, we’ve got a really unified group, and you see it every night.
“It’s crazy to be close to being as close as a college team, high school team. I lived with all my college teammates, you know? We were around each other every single day, living right next door to each other. When I came into the league, I was so surprised — people (would) come to work, they’d leave and you don’t hear from your teammates. But this group, we stay connected, and it’s special.”
Tobias Harris has contributed as much as any Piston over the last two seasons in helping cultivate that togetherness. While the veteran chipped in a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double on Wednesday, his value extends beyond box scores. He’s been an integral piece of the team’s culture since signing as a free agent before the 2024-25 season.
“The group is embedded together by the bond that we have with one another,” Harris told The Athletic. “When I came here, I was always like, ‘We’re going to talk it out.’ If we lose a game and we’re on the plane, it ain’t no headphones on, quiet mode. Nah, let’s talk that s— out because that’s the only way we move forward. There’s no sulking. We’re on to the next page.
“There’s enough pockets of the group in the same age bracket to have similarities. And we all just find ourselves in the middle of everything, so it’s good.”
The constant communication and ability to talk through exemplifies the connectivity the Pistons have shown since the beginning of the turnaround when Harris and Bickerstaff first arrived. Establishing a baseline of communication has bred a sense of accountability in each player.
No one wants to let anyone down. That mindset, coupled with an All-NBA guard in Cunningham and the depth the Pistons have boasted all season long, is why they’re the best team in the East. That cohesion Bickerstaff observed in September 2024 foreshadowed the rhythm Detroit is in now. And it could be why they’re in store for more postseason basketball than they’ve seen in recent years.
“This is where we want to be,” Cunningham said. “We’ve worked to put ourselves in this position at this point in the year. Not knowing where it would take us, but we knew we wanted to be at the top of the league, and this is what it looks like. So now it’s about enjoying the break, but taking care of ourselves and coming out of the break strong.”