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The upstart Detroit Pistons (9-14) have seemingly turned a competitive corner with Cade Cunningham leading the way on the court. Trajan Langdon, the recently hired President of Basketball Operations, has injected some fresh air into an organizational culture that needed a boost. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is handling the rest from the sidelines and is finding some parts of the job easier than expected.
Cunningham and Jaden Ivey have enough juice to keep the Pistons in the postseason conversation but veterans like Tobias Harris have been huge in the locker room. Bickerstaff explained the new winning dynamic when asked by ClutchPoints.
“It's one of those things that you've got to get the buy-in from the guys first and foremost,” Bickerstaff explained. “That's been very easy for us to do because of the quality of people we have working with us. From the veterans we added to the young guys there is a nice balance of the experience, the newness.”
Getting the right veterans and seeing the buy-in from the younger players has made a world of difference in the team's win-loss record.
“The guys that could show the younger guys the way and then young guys that want to be led and are eager to pick up things,” Bickerstaff added. “That's been the fun part about it is kind of mixing it all together. All we are trying to do is simple things that we can control every night. We want to compete hard and play the game selflessly. I think our guys have bought into that and it has helped us win some games early.”
Everything the franchise wants to see from the players has to come from the coaches as well.
“It's just about consistency and approach,” noted Bickerstaff. “Every single day as coaches, we approach it the same way. A win or loss does not matter. We are about the process every single day. We don't hang our hat on what the results are because we understand where we are. We are set in the foundation of who we are going to be. We are still a work in progress and we are trying to grow to get it to the place where we want it to be.”
Pistons facing big decisions before deadline
The Pistons have the same amounts of wins as the currently-seventh Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference. Bickerstaff and Langdon's launching pad looks primed for a run up the charts in the Motor City very soon. However, will they want to make a run up the standings given Cunningham and Ivey's development? The franchise could be looking to deal in the trade market with an eye toward the postseason now that the potential lottery odds for Cooper Flagg are dropping with every victory.
Any aggression before the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline likely depends on how the Pistons close out 2024. Detroit has one of the most challenging schedules to close out the 2024 calendar year. They start December at home against the Milwaukee Bucks (12/3) before traveling to face the Boston Celtics (12/4) in a back-to-back set. Then it's down to Madison Square Garden to see the New York Knicks (12/7).
Getting the Utah Jazz (12/19) after two unknown NBA Cup break week games is a nice pre-Christmas scheduling gift. A four-game road trip to meet the Phoenix Suns (12/21), Los Angeles Lakers (12/23), Sacramento Kings (12/26), and Denver Nuggets (12/28) will test the Pistons' fighting spirit.
Thankfully for long-suffering fans, the Pistons seem ready for the challenge less than a year after witnessing one of the worst seasons in franchise history. That is significant progress in a short amount of time for Langdon and Bickerstaff. Now it's up to Cunningham and Ivey to keep inching up the standings.
