The Pistons are finding relevancy in basketball circles again and Cade Cunningham is a big reason why.
With 10 wins in its past 12 games, Detroit has risen to eighth in the Eastern Conference. They are tied with the Miami Heat in seventh, and just a half game behind both the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Even home court advantage in the playoffs is just 1.5 games away.
To put Detroit’s 21-19 record near the halfway mark in perspective, the team’s highest win total over the past five years for a whole season was 23-59.
Remember, Jaden Ivey suffered a broken fibula in his left leg just over a week ago.
So, just how are the Pistons doing it?
Cunningham’s Leap
If someone were to make a blueprint before the season on how the Pistons could be a winning team this season, it would start and end with Cunningham making a leap.
Now in his fourth season, Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 9.4 assists, and just under a steal and a block per game. What was once a questionable outside stroke at under 32 percent in each of his first two seasons is now a healthy 38.2 percent on 6.5 three-point attempts per game.
Cunningham has been absolutely lights out in January to inspire this recent winning run, putting up 26.5 points on 50.3 percent shooting from the field including 45.8 percent from deep in eight games this month.
He can do it with the shot and the pass, whether it be the monster 40-point showing against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 4 or the 17-assist night against the Toronto Raptors a week later.
If you wanted to see a showcase of leadership, Cunningham was immense against the Knicks on Monday night. New York looked in an advantageous position up four at halftime with Cunningham having racked up four fouls. The 23-year-old instead came out for the second half with 11 straight points and a total of 18 in the quarter to shift momentum back.
He finished with 36 points on the night while not committing a single foul in the second half to stun the Knicks crowd.
Ethical hoops, no foul baiting, straight buckets of every variety.
36 PTS | 29 PTS in the second half. pic.twitter.com/tur7N60EEk
— Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) January 14, 2025
Wildcard Beasley Emerges
Another key for the Pistons coming into this season would have been to have someone perform well above expectations. That man has been Malik Beasley.
While always a great outside shooter, Beasley has provided a level of consistency not seen since the 2020-21 season. His 16.5 points per game is the highest average of his career since then and the 9.4 threes he’s attempting per game a new career-high. He’s knocking down 40.4 percent of those attempts.
There have been 13 games so far this season where Beasley has knocked down at least five triples.
Ever since the injury to Jaden Ivey, Beasley’s scoring has become all the more important and he has become a trustworthy aide in Cunningham’s cause.
MALIK BEASLEY ICES IT FOR DETROIT 🧊
Back-to-back 3s in the final minute…
Pistons have won 10 of their last 12 👀 pic.twitter.com/RSHGwAbO7K
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2025
Bickerstaff Effect
A season ago, the Pistons ranked 28th in offense and 25th in defense, finished with the worst record in the league at 14-68, and fired Monty Williams from the head coaching role after one season.
J. B. Bickerstaff came in with fairly low expectations considering the Cleveland Cavaliers fired him after what was deemed underwhelming results. His time with the Pistons so far already speaks for itself.
So far, the Pistons rank 17th in both offense and defense, marked improvements from a year ago. During this latest stretch when the team has won 10 of 12, Detroit has the eighth best offense. A good chunk of that has to do with shooting the lights out with an effective field goal percentage of 57. That may be something to look for if the Pistons come back down to earth.
Detroit has also been the sixth-best offensive rebounding team during this scorching 14-game stretch.
One thing the Pistons have done well all season is push the pace. The team ranks sixth in transition frequency on the season, though they are bottom 10 in efficiency. During this winning stretch, Detroit has managed to up its transition frequency to tops in the league while also bumping efficiency up to 13th.
Sneaky Depth
The league today has made it very difficult to win without depth.
While not possessing sexy names, the Pistons are getting contributions from different players on different nights that are making a vital difference. Ron Holland is emerging as a young prospect, Isaiah Stewart is embracing his role off the bench, and Ausar Thompson’s role is steadily expanding.
Most are unmoved by Tobias Harris, but that off-season acquisition has provided understated veteran stability.
Is The Streak For Real?
Perhaps the last thing to consider in all this is how real this Pistons streak is.
Beating the Suns and Lakers on the road is certainly credible, while beating a Kings team still under the tutelage of Mike Brown may have been right time, right place. That applies to beating the Magic without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner as well.
Four of the wins have come against Charlotte, Portland, Brooklyn and Toronto.
A big indicator of the Pistons’ improvement is that they are now 11-13 against plus-.500 teams and 10-6 against sub-.500 teams. Winning against good teams regularly enough and beating teams you’re now expected to beat more often than not shows they’ve come a long way.
Last year, Detroit went a hardly fathomable 3-49 against plus-.500 teams. That says it all.
No one is looking at the Pistons as contenders or even considering the possibility that they could win a playoff round.
It’s still worth recognizing that after years in the abyss, this Pistons franchise looks firmly on the right track.
