The Detroit Pistons have been in cruise control in the Eastern Conference right from the get go and with weeks until the playoffs, they’re first in the standings with a 49-19 record. Their goal? Bring a championship back to the Motor City and Cade Cunningham will undoubtedly play the role of the protagonist. The question is: if he fails, who steps up?
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Whether Detroit can perform just as well in the post-season as they have in the regular season is doubtful. Last year, they were on fire heading into their playoff bout against the New York Knicks, and even took them to six games, but they couldn’t get over the finish line. This team has potential but lacks experience.
Some analyst are reminding the East that the Pistons are not some unbeatable juggernaut, but a team with flaws. TSN’s Sam Mitchell even went as far as to claim that the team his network covers heavily, the Toronto Raptors, are a stronger unit despite being fifth with a 38-29 record. To him, they’re all about Cunningham.
“The Toronto Raptors may have more talent than the Detroit Pistons overall. Other than Cade Cunningham. You think about Cade Cunningham, who’s their second best player? Look at the Raptors. You got Scottie Barnes and BI. Those are your 2 best players,” began Mitchell.
“You look at the Center position. Jakob Pöltl and Duren? About the same.”
Sam Mitchell says the Toronto Raptors may have more talent than the 1st-seeded Detroit Pistons, overall :
“You think about Cade Cunningham, who’s their second best player?”
“Look at the Raptors. You got Scottie Barnes and BI. Those are your 2 best players.”
“You look at the… pic.twitter.com/zzr39iikJR
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) March 18, 2026
Mitchell may have been looking at the future. Toronto did beat Detroit this past Sunday 119-108 and looked to be in control for most of the contest. It wasn’t a spoiler for what’s to come later this season, of course, but losing to playoff rivals in the business end of the regular season is something they’d like the avoid.
“So if you look at this Raptors team, and you look at what players have accomplished that’s on the Raptors, you can make an argument the Raptors may be a better team, as far as talent, than Detroit,” added Mitchell. “They may not be a good playoff team.”
That’s arguably the Pistons’ biggest fear. But it also doesn’t mean that they will back down without a fight.
Since losing to the Knicks in the playoffs last year, the Pistons have played them three times in the 25-26 season, and won all three. So, who is to say they don’t learn from their recent defeat to the Raptors and come back stronger?
Now it comes down to whether they can do it when the lights are brightest. Cunningham looks ready for that moment, averaging 24.5 points a game, but the rest of the roster has to prove it alongside him. If they do, this whole conversation disappears real quick. And if not, well, the noise is only going to get louder.
