The Pistons had a historically poor campaign in the 2023-24 NBA season. They became only the 11th team in league history to finish a season with fewer than 15 wins in an 82-game campaign. Their 14-68 record was tied for 11th-worst in terms of winning percentage. They also equaled the 76ers record for most consecutive losses, losing 28 straight games.
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The Pistons came into the 2023-24 season expecting a rough rebuilding year. They handed head coach Monty Williams a six-year, $78.5 million contract to give him time to build the team without worrying about the immediate future. However, the front office never envisioned they’d had a historically horrendous campaign and decided to relieve the head coach of his duties after only one season.
Detroit hired JB Bickerstaff as his replacement, who helped turn the bottom-feeder Cavaliers into a consistent playoff-caliber team. It’s among the slew of promising moves the team made this offseason to bounce back from their dismal showing last year. While it should be a given that the team will finish the year with more than 14 wins, they might be on the cusp of one of the most impressive comebacks ever.
The Pistons haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, but three factors could help them end that streak in the upcoming campaign.
1. Can Cade Cunningham make the All-Star leap?
Cunningham was limited to only 12 games in his sophomore season but that didn’t stop him from making a massive leap last year. He was a bright spot for the Pistons, averaging 22.7 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds.
He shouldered much of the offensive responsibility for Detroit, ranking in the 98th percentile of all players in both, offensive load and box creation. Considering the Pistons’ clunky spacing last year, this is a testament to Cunningham’s potential as a shot-creator.
Out of all players who averaged at least three mid-range shot attempts, he ranked eighth in efficiency. The 23-year-old also converted 39.6% of his 6.2 attempts from beyond the arc after the All-Star break. Cunningham was coming into his own during the second half of the season, raising his scoring average to 24 points, with only four coming from the free-throw line.
If he develops more strength and draws fouls at a higher rate, Cade could become 25 points per game scorer next season. The front office believes in his potential, as they handed their primary ball-handler to a five-year, $224 million rookie max extension.
Detroit also added some much-needed shooting around him with Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris joining via free agency. Cunningham will benefit from the space their presence on the floor will open, allowing him to create more open shots for himself and his teammates. If he spearheads a bounce-back season for the Pistons, he could earn his first All-Star nod.
2. Can Jalen Duren and Cade Cunningham build strong chemistry?
Jalen Duren averaged a double-double last season, ranking in the 88th percentile as an offensive rebounder. At 6-foot-10, the 20-year-old might be undersized for a center. However, his 7-foot-5 wingspan and 37-inch vertical make him among the physically gifted players on the roster.
The young center’s 250-pound build makes him an effective screener. He generated 10.4 points per game from his screen assists, ranking third in the league. However, Duren’s play on offense is quite traditional. He gets most of his points inside the paint and has yet to convert a three-pointer in the NBA.
Duren has been a largely one-dimensional defender and if he wants to be the defensive anchor of this Detroit team, he will have to provide more reliable rim protection than he did. He averaged only 0.8 blocks last season, explaining why the Pistons conceded 54.5 points in the paint per game, the fourth-worst mark in the league.
However, as Pistons fans would be quick to point out, he is still a young player, having joined the league as an 18-year-old. In his first two seasons, Jalen Duren has improved steadily. His free-throw percentage went up from 61.1% in his rookie season to 79% in his sophomore campaign.
Jalen Duren’s 2.4 assists last season also show that he can be the perfect support piece for Cunningham and Jaden Ivey to receive dribble hand-offs from.
3. Will the Pistons make the Play-in off of their own merit or because the East got worse at the bottom?
Even with the promise of their new-look roster, the Pistons still have to get the better of teams like the Bulls, Hawks, and Heat, who were part of the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament last season. Thankfully for Detroit, the off-season was not as kind to everyone.
The Bulls lost Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan, and though they have replaced them with Josh Giddey and Chris Duarte, the outlook in Chicago about the roster is bleak. Caruso was the anchor for their team in Lonzo Ball’s absence and as the injured point guard makes a comeback, he is likely not going to replicate the impact the former Lakers star had.
Similarly, the end of Dejounte Murray’s time in Atlanta has concerning implications for the Hawks’ future. Many fans expected the team to go into full rebuild mode when they landed the #1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Instead, the team drafted Zaccharie Risacher to join Jalen Johnson at the forward spot and landed Dyson Daniels as the new back-court partner for Trae Young.
It’s hard to tell how this roster will pan out and if they struggle through the mid-point of the season, Trae Young could even demand a trade before the deadline. The bottom of the Eastern Conference is in a clear state of flux, with Jimmy Butler’s future in Miami becoming uncertain and the Brooklyn Nets also zoning in on a rebuild after the departure of Mikal Bridges.
Under Cunningham’s leadership, the Pistons might be able to take advantage of that vacuum. They can certainly put together a better season than the Hornets, Wizards, and the Nets. If they click into gear and outperform Chicago and Atlanta, they stand a chance to sneak into the play-in tournament in 2025.
