The Detroit Pistons are 13-2

The Detroit Pistons had the one of the biggest single season turnarounds in NBA history last year when they went from a 14 win team to a 44 win team. Entering this season, there were mixed feelings about Detroit. They lost Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley and Dennis Schroder this offseason and people were wondering if they could take the next leap or if it was too early. Through 15 games, the Pistons have proven that they are ready to take the next leap. At 13-2, the Pistons are one win off of their season total from two years ago. The Pistons are really good, how seriously should we take them?

The Pistons success starts on the defensive end of the court, they currently rank 2nd in the NBA in defense, giving up 109.7 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time. They are 4th in net rating at +8.0 points in non-garbage time minutes, the best in the east and only worse than the Thunder, Rockets and Nuggets, who, in my opinion, are the three best teams in the NBA. Sitting at first place in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons have looked the part of a really good team this year. They are on an 11 game winning streak after a 2-2 start, and a blow out loss to the Cavaliers. With wins over the 76ers twice and their most recent win over the Hawks, who have also been playing great basketball as of late, this isn’t entirely over teams who aren’t good. One thing that is very impressive about this streak is that the Pistons have done this in spite of a bunch of injuries to start the season.

Jaden Ivey was supposed to play a big part in helping out with the loss of Schroder, who was acquired at the deadline to deal with the loss of Ivey (after his season ending injury last year). Tobias Harris has also been hurt for a good chunk of the season to this point, only playing in 6 games thus far. Harris became an integral part to Detroit's success last season as a veteran who could shoot the three and play off the bounce a little as well. Yet, in their absence, the Pistons have not missed a beat and a lot of that can be equated to the leap of starting center Jalen Duren.

After not agreeing to a contract extension this past offseason, Duren is headed towards restricted free agency this upcoming summer. It is a good summer for Duren to be doing that. Thus far Duren is averaging 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. With Duren on the floor, the Pistons have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, scoring 122.0 points per 100 possessions and a net rating of 11.4 per 100 possessions. They score 9.1 more points per 100 with Duren on the court than off of it and they are 9.8 points better with Duren on the court than they are with him off of the court. His leap offensively this season has been a huge part of how the Pistons have been able to play this season. He is getting to the line a lot more this season, after averaging 2.8 free throw attempts per game over the first 3 seasons of his career, he is now taking 7.3 free throw attempts per game this year. That has played a big reason why the Pistons are much better offensively with him than with him on the bench. We will see if he is able to keep this level of play up but I suspect he will and that this leap is real.

Obviously, the Pistons go as Cade Cunningham goes and Cunningham is fantastic. Cunningham has not shot the three ball well this season, at 27.5%. That number is down from the 34% career mark he had entering the season. However, that has not slowed the Pistons or Cunningham down. He is averaging a career high 27.3 points and a career high 9.9 assists per game this year. He is an awesome player who is going to make a ton of All-Star teams and a ton of All-NBA teams. He can be the best player on a championship team and there is just not a ton more to say on him.

On the Zach Lowe Show on Wednesday, Lowe mentioned what a potential Lauri Markkanen trade to Detroit could look like. He said “he’s averaging 30 points a game. The price is going to be everything… Jaden Ivey, Ron Holland, Tobias Harris, four picks plus four swaps.” I am not sure the Pistons should be paying that price for Markkanen. He is a really good player who could push the Pistons over the top in the Eastern Conference but I am not sure he does and there are other guys the Pistons can trade for if they don’t want to pay that price. The Pistons also could decide to not make any deal at the deadline, if they get Ivey back and he remains healthy they could want to see what the roster looks like for a playoff run.

Cunningham recently went on Kevin Durant’s podcast and said that the Pistons should have won their series against the Knicks last year and he is not wrong, they hung in there with New York during that 6 game series. I think this team is as good as any in the east to start this season. Neither the Cavaliers or Knicks have separated themselves to start this season from the pack and the Pistons are right there with the top of the conference. I am not picking Detroit to win the east but I also would not have picked Indiana to win the east at any point last year, crazier things have happened.

I also want to mention Ausar Thompson, who has had a good season to start this year, he is a really good player who has only gotten better and if he can consistently make his three, watch out. The Pistons are really good and need to be taken seriously in a weak Eastern Conference. Led by one of the best guards in the NBA and a center whose ascension this year has been awesome, we need to look at the Pistons in a different light than we thought we would coming into the season.