{"id":1850568,"date":"2026-03-27T13:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T10:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1850568"},"modified":"2026-03-27T13:00:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T10:00:59","slug":"pistons-defense-fuels-resurgence-echoing-franchises-winning-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1850568","title":{"rendered":"Pistons\u2019 defense fuels resurgence, echoing franchise\u2019s winning past"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DETROIT \u2014 It was hard to hear Mason over the din of the crowd celebrating another successful Pistons night at Little Caesar\u2019s Arena Monday night as the team\u2019s victory song \u2014 Gmac Cash\u2019s \u201cPistons Won Again\u201d<\/a> \u2014 blared in the background. But Mason, Detroit\u2019s legendary PA announcer<\/a>, intoned solemnly into his microphone.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere will be no burning of Laker jerseys outside of the building or in the parking lot. Take \u2019em back home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There were more than a few fans of the visiting team wearing Forum Blue and Gold Monday. But the Pistons sent \u2019em home sad, breaking the Lakers\u2019 nine-game win streak with a 113-110 win. It was the latest data point showing that this Detroit team, playing without its league MVP candidate, Cade Cunningham, and its heart-and-soul big man, Isaiah Stewart, is a fully-formed championship contender. Detroit has been the best team in the East all season and is closing in on the conference\u2019s top seed with two-plus weeks left in the regular season.<\/p>\n

That this has happened a little more than two years since the Pistons set a single-season NBA record with 28 straight losses<\/a> en route to a 14-68 season with an entirely new front office and coaching staff, is \u2026 well, \u201camazing\u201d would be a clich\u00e9.<\/p>\n

How about a remarkably rapid reinvention?<\/p>\n

The alliteration is fitting for a city that has had to make itself over, too, after losing a few hundred thousand more jobs from its primary financial driver (pun unintended) \u2014 the automative industry \u2014 in the last few years, while also juggling the bruising impact of tariffs, Chinese automaker inroads in the United States<\/a> and other disruptors to the once-impregnable business. Detroit remains a work in progress<\/a>, adding tech and other jobs throughout the region to try and stem the job losses from the Big Three. It\u2019s far from out of the woods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s pro basketball team, though, reaches eagerly into the past.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s leaning into the defense-first ethos of the Pistons\u2019 championship teams. Like the team which shocked the Lakers to win the 2004 title behind NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, reached the seventh game of the \u201905 finals against the Spurs and made six straight Eastern Conference finals, its backbone a wall of Wallaces \u2014 Ben and Rasheed. Along with small forward Tayshaun Prince, they made the seemingly impossible on defense<\/a> happen with regularity.<\/p>\n

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(The team\u2019s late, beloved longtime owner, Bill Davidson, had noted the 8-to-1 odds favoring the Lakers going into the \u201904 finals, At his team\u2019s victory parade 10 days later, Davidson said, \u201cin the last two weeks, there\u2019s been a lot of b\u2014\u2014t going on in this country<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p>\n

The fabled Bad Boys of the late \u201980s, led by Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, were, of course, first with their take-no-prisoners defense<\/a>, going up to the line of acceptable physicality \u2014 and then, often, obliterating it, scrapping and fighting their way to back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990,<\/a> beating Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the playoffs more than they were beaten by them.<\/p>\n

The game is different today, and most of that kind of play has been legislated out of the game.<\/p>\n

But this year\u2019s Pistons can get down, too, if you want<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the Pistons have become a multi-effort defensive beast. They\u2019re currently second in the league in defensive rating this season, and first in Dunks & Threes\u2019<\/a> team defensive EPM. Two years ago, they were 26th in team defensive EPM.<\/p>\n

They also lead the league in fouls per game, at 22.2.<\/p>\n

Third-year center Jalen Duren, Cunningham, wing Ausar Thompson, Stewart and guard Marcus Sasser are all that remain from that chaotic \u201923-\u201924 campaign, which led to the dismissals of both coach Monty Williams and GM Troy Weaver. Sasser is the only one of the playing quintet who\u2019s turned 25. They\u2019re the spine upon which this latest version of, as Mason puts it nightly, \u201cDeeeeeeetroit Basketball\u201d<\/em> has been built.<\/p>\n

Thompson leads the league in defensive EPM,<\/a> while also at the top of the league in steals per 100 possessions. Monday, he picked up Luka Don\u010di\u0107, who\u2019s been on an epic offensive heater of late, all over the floor, and helped turn off his water after Don\u010di\u0107 scored 17 first-quarter points. Second-year wing Ron Holland II, in fewer than 17 minutes per game, is nonetheless in the 97th percentile league-wide in defensive EPM. Stewart is sixth in the league in blocks per game. All of them are irritants, in the best sense of that word. They annoy teams. They frustrate teams.<\/p>\n

And now, they\u2019re beating teams.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think it fits the Pistons culture, like the Pistons\u2019 history,\u201d Duren said. \u201cObviously, the Goin\u2019 to Work team<\/a>, and the Bad Boys early on, I think it just fits the mold. And I don\u2019t think that was something, people probably think we were trying to copy that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m going to go back to the character of the team. When you add those types of guys, who like to play that way, it\u2019s just (not) a coincidence. And it all came together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Pistons center Jalen Duren (center) has been a force on both ends of the floor this season. David Reginek \/ Imagn Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Cunningham, the first pick in the 2021 draft, has become a killer, averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds. But Cunningham\u2019s chances at MVP or All-NBA First Team are teetering after suffering a collapsed lung<\/a> following a collision with Wizards guard Tre Johnson in Washington last week, which has Cunningham shelved indefinitely. The team hopes he\u2019ll be back for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the injury has left Cunningham stuck at 61 games played with nine games left to play. He would have to play at least 20 minutes in four of the team\u2019s final games to qualify under the league\u2019s 65-games played minimum criteria for its major postseason awards.<\/p>\n

Whether or not Cunningham gets that hardware, or the bruising, fearless Stewart winds up as Sixth Man of the Year<\/a> (that award is not subject to the 65-game minimum), the Pistons have managed to continue winning without them. Just as they kept coming in to practice while they were getting pantsed on the court, night after night, two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just stuck with it, came into work every day,\u201d Duren said. \u201cAnd we believed in ourselves. When the world didn\u2019t believe in us, they were clowning us, they were saying we weren\u2019t going to be good enough, it was going to take years, 10 years, we believed in what we had in this locker room, and the core that we were building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weaver, now in New Orleans, drafted or traded for each of the remaining five core players noted above, amid withering criticism for other moves that didn\u2019t work out as well. Rebuilding teams have misses along with their hits. But Weaver got the two biggest positions right \u2014 point guard and center. And the quintet as a group had a toughness that allowed the franchise\u2019s new leadership, starting with president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon and the new coaching staff, to hit the ground running.<\/p>\n

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After getting the job in May of 2024, Langdon spoke with every one of the returning players, to see if they understood the level of care needed to get better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were looking forward to the challenge, but they weren\u2019t defeated,\u201d Langdon says. \u201cIt was, \u2018We want to turn this around,\u2019 not \u2018I want out.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Langdon also had to replace Williams, who\u2019d been hired with great fanfare in the summer of 2023, at a ginormous cost \u2014 $78 million over six years. Owner Tom Gores took out a big ol\u2019 fork and knife and ate the remaining $65 million<\/a> the team owed Williams.<\/p>\n

Langdon quickly hired Bickerstaff, who\u2019d led the Cavs back from irrelevance to contention over four seasons, but was dismissed<\/a> after Cleveland went out early for a second straight season in the playoffs in 2024. Still, the Cavaliers improved significantly defensively during his four full seasons as head coach.<\/p>\n

To be sure, some of the jump was because of Cleveland drafting Evan Mobley third in the 2021 draft. But the Cavs still got better on D every season. They were good in three-big frontcourt lineups, with Lauri Markkanen at the three. Langdon saw similarities between the Cavs\u2019 and Pistons\u2019 organizations, and Bickerstaff had just turned Cleveland around.<\/p>\n

Bickerstaff found commonality with the young core he was inheriting.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the attitude they had, in the first conversations with them, let me know what they were about,\u201d Bickerstaff said last week. \u201cTalking to them, and their awareness, and the confidence that they still had in themselves, even though they had gone through so many tough times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even during the Pistons\u2019 two-month long losing streak in 2023, while there were lots and lots of blowout losses, Detroit was also competitive in several games. The Pistons lost by two at Milwaukee; by eight at Cleveland; by four at home to Denver. They lost by six at New York and by six in overtime at Boston. Cunningham was in his third season, Duren in his second and Thompson was a rookie. Their budding talents didn\u2019t match their experience.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe knew we couldn\u2019t make the playoffs early, so at that point, it\u2019s like, \u2018How are we going to build to become winners at one point?’\u201d Thompson said. \u201cAlthough we have a different coach now, as individuals, maybe we\u2019d pick up full-court. Maybe we\u2019d practice more serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bad teams have to start from scratch, especially on defense. You may start with something as simple as who the low man is on each defensive possession. There\u2019s a humility necessary to begin building a step at a time. But, quickly \u2014 again \u2014 the Pistons have come to understand what Bickerstaff wants. Duren has grown exponentially on D<\/a>, both in voice and deed.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Bickerstaff has) established a culture,\u201d Duren said. \u201cHe established an expectation for how he wanted us to play, and what he wanted the team to look like. And we just tried to follow that to the best of our ability. We hadn\u2019t known or seen too much winning, or didn\u2019t even know how to win too many games in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when he came in, as a proven coach, he kind of fit the characteristics of the guys in the locker room, first and foremost. And from there, it just kind of took off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bickerstaff recalled road wins in Indiana and New York early last season as real signs of growth. Detroit wound up improving by 30 games last season, earning the sixth seed in the East. The Pistons then won twice in Madison Square Garden in their first-round series against the Knicks before succumbing in six hard games \u2014 played mostly without Stewart, who was dealing with knee inflammation.<\/p>\n

They were learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we saw is our guys started to be able to get stops on command,\u201d Bickerstaff said. \u201cSo if it\u2019s a six-point game in our favor, our guys would get three stops in a row. And then we would score on two of those three (offensive possessions), and now it\u2019s a 10-point game, or whatever it may be. And that\u2019s where the separation comes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This season, Detroit\u2019s received meaningful production so far from its depth pieces, even after losing free agent Malik Beasley, who finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, after shooting 42 percent on 3s. Beasley, though, was one of several players investigated for ties to sports gambling<\/a> last offseason, though he has yet to be charged with any crime and, according to his attorney in August 2025, was not a target of a federal gambling investigation<\/a>. But a reported three-year, $42 million deal on the table with Detroit last summer was never finalized.<\/p>\n

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The Pistons acquired Duncan Robinson from Miami to try and make up some of their 3-point losses, and doubled down further at the trade deadline in February by sending former first-rounder Jaden Ivey to the Bulls in a deal for veteran Kevin Huerter. Veteran forward Tobias Harris is in his second tour with the team. The Pistons picked up center Paul Reed off waivers in 2024, and he\u2019s been a solid backup for Duren over 100 games.<\/p>\n

Monday, second-year guard Daniss Jenkins, a former two-way player who\u2019s decided to become Vinnie Johnson 2.0, continued his remarkable rise after going undrafted out of St. John\u2019s in 2024.<\/p>\n

Jenkins grinded through with Detroit\u2019s G League team last season, making the league\u2019s All-Rookie team. That earned him a shot with the Pistons\u2019 summer league team in Vegas<\/a> last July, and he hasn\u2019t looked back, forcing his way into Bickerstaff\u2019s rotation<\/a> with clutch shots all season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Monday, with Cunningham still out, Jenkins got on the ball and made his bones, en route to a career-high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 5 on 3s. With Duren dominating the middle as he has all season, the Pistons held off Don\u010di\u0107 and LeBron James down the stretch for another quality win.<\/p>\n

Most players come into the NBA with confidence, but it\u2019s almost always based on what they did in high school or college. They\u2019re often denuded when they get to the pros, humbled. Jenkins kept his armor even when he\u2019s struggled shooting this season, trusting the work he\u2019s put in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys believe they\u2019re supposed to be here,\u201d veteran Caris LeVert said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the most impressive part. They believe \u2014 we believe \u2014 we\u2019re the best team in the league. We believe we\u2019re the best team in the East. We believe we should be winning these games. That\u2019s been the mentality all season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever we play, we feel like we should win the game. Sometimes that bites us in the ass, but most times, it\u2019s good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The playoffs will show how far Detroit has come. The Celtics, with Jayson Tatum back<\/a>, are again formidable. The Knicks brought Mike Brown in to coach to make them less predictable in the postseason. The Cavaliers went all-in by trading for James Harden. Philly looks like it\u2019s finally getting its real team back together. The Hawks and Raptors have been feisty all season. And the Pistons haven\u2019t passed any postseason tests yet.<\/p>\n

So they will lean into leaning into their opponents. And swiping at them. And shoving them. And irritating them. And making it as difficult as possible to score.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s just how the Pistons are gonna win,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI think it\u2019s defense first. That\u2019s what makes the Pistons the Pistons. That\u2019s what the team is built off of. And that\u2019s how they got their three rings.\u201d<\/p>\n

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DETROIT \u2014 It was hard to hear Mason over the din of the crowd celebrating another successful Pistons night at Little Caesar\u2019s Arena Monday night as the team\u2019s victory song \u2014 Gmac Cash\u2019s \u201cPistons Won Again\u201d \u2014 blared in the background. But Mason, Detroit\u2019s legendary PA announcer, intoned solemnly into his microphone. Advertisement \u201cThere will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1850568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1850568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850568\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1850568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1850568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1850568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}