Detroit Pistons — BASKETBALLIN . NET

The 2024-25 Detroit Pistons can be defined by a turnaround season for the ages.

What did we learn?

The Detroit Pistons were The Young Surprise Team That Was Promised.

From 14 wins to 44 wins (!!!) and their first playoff victory since 2008.

The Pistons became the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous season.

It’s a cliche that must be said: Cade Cunningham made the leap. A giant one that not only catapulted him to being an All-Star and 3rd Team All-NBA but also transformed this team seemingly overnight.

It turns out that surrounding Cade with shooters was the recipe for success. With weapons at his disposal, Cade controlled the game and mastered lefty finishes at the rim. 26-9-6 per game is no joke. His 3-point shot has improved dramatically from his first two years in the league.

Speaking of 3s, Malik Beasley a.k.a Malik Threesley made 319 of them thangs, shimmying his way to the second-most made 3s in the NBA this season, only one 3-pointer behind Anthony Edwards for No. 1.

Beasley was also an Iron Man, playing all 82 games this season.

That was a common theme amongst this group. Consistency and reliability:

Cade: 70 games
Beasley: 82 games
Tim Hardaway Jr.: 77 games
Tobias Harris: 73 games
Jalen Duren: 78 games

Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. each brought 10+ years of NBA experience to the locker room, exactly the professional veteran presence that this young team needed.

The same goes for bringing in reclamation project extraordinaire J.B. Bickerstaff to coach this group.

It was evident all season: This team was hungry, starving to shake free from the Detroit stench of losing and win some damn ball games.

Jalen Duren was an imposing force on the interior. He was prone to foul trouble but improved in that regard as the season progressed. Duren averaged a double-double and racked up 41 total, ninth-most in the NBA this season.

This team had muscle, too. Not just Isaiah Sewart this time around. Ron Holland played with an intensity and toughness that mixed with Beef Stew brought on the Detroit Bad Boys comparisons.

The first round series with the Knicks was a battle royale. Every game seemed to have monster swings and come down to the wire, because most all of them did.

The close late-game losses sting and the Pistons unfortunately didn’t win a playoff game at Little Caesars Arena, (they were absolutely robbed in Game 4 from that egregious no-call), but they won twice on the road at MSG, an incredible achievement for this group.

It’s important to remember this team was playing with house money.

From 14 wins to 44 — the Stones hadn’t won more than 23 games in a season since 2018-19 with Detroit Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and Dwane Casey.

It must be emphasized again they got screwed in Game 4, the 2-minute report confirmed what we all saw.

The Pistons did not get the benefit of the doubt.

But for the last five extreme losing seasons, they got righteous redemption.

They broke free from the chains of losing and announced to the world:

DETROIT BASKETBALL IS BACK.

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Additional Notes

Prior to breaking his leg on New Year’s Day, Jaden Ivey was having a very good third season. People forget he was shooting 40 percent from 3 and hit several clutch buckets to win games for the Stones. (Also important to remember Detroit went on their run without Ivey.)
Ausar Thompson was eased into the season around Thanksgiving after dealing with a scary blood clot issue. Ausar still doesn’t have the 3-ball, but he can do just about everything else.
Dennis Schroder finally found a home after landing on his third team this season. Detroit welcomed him with open arms and his playmaking and scrapiness fit in perfectly.

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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?

It’s a bit unsettling how many people are on this, but so are we. Over 25.5 wins.

Pistons 2024-25 record: (44-38)

YES INDEED! One more time for the people in the back: The Pistons became the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous season.