Pistons Quarter-ish Season Review: What have we Learned?
Fans have been desperate to learn something about the Pistons over the last few seasons, and they are finally getting some answers.

As of the time of this writing, the Detroit Pistons have played 25 games. Is that exactly one-quarter of the way through the season? No, but it’s close enough for a review.
Besides, the real takeaway at this point should be that the Pistons have ten wins before Christmas and sit just outside the playoff picture. The Pistons didn’t win ten games last season until March and never sniffed the Play-in Tournament, let alone the playoffs outright.
Detroit made a lot of changes this past offseason, mostly to the structural integrity of the organization. Here is what we have learned about the Pistons so far this season, 25 games in.
Cade Cunningham is That Dude
This should go without saying, but there are still detractors that will fight against it: Cade Cunningham is that guy.
He believes he’s an All-Star, and I agree. He should be in the conversation for Most Improved Player. The Pistons offense is 6.7 points per 100 possessions, which is better with him on the court versus off — a superstar-level impact that puts him between Darius Garland and Trae Young. The franchise cornerstone is aided by two key aspects: a clean bill of health and actual good players around him.
Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley are quality offensive weapons that help make the engine hum, with Cunningham as the eight-cylinder center. Cade is having a breakout season, with his points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage all career-highs. The sky is limitless, and thus so is Detroit’s future.
Monty Williams was an Absolute Disaster
Sorry his name was mentioned, but this season demonstrates that Monty Williams was actively sabotaging Detroit. There are a lot of reasons why, such as being offered so much guaranteed money he literally could not say no, but the proof is in the pudding. J.B. Bickerstaff has been a dramatically better presence for a team that needed stability. He is an adult who cares and has a passion for figuring things out.
The Pistons are fighting like hell on defense, something Bickerstaff instilled in a similarly young and reckless Cleveland Cavaliers team a few years ago. While his decision to stick with Tim Hardaway Jr. in the starting lineup is questionable, it isn’t indefensible like last season’s Isaiah Livers debacle. I went on the record several times on the Palace of Pistons Podcast saying that Bickerstaff was the perfect hire for Detroit, and I will continue to stand by that statement. The team's body language is much better, players are buying in, and the veterans are accepting their roles. That is a total flip from last season’s fever dream of failure.

Center is Still an Issue
Jalen Duren was the wildcard coming into the season, and the jury is still out on whether he is the center of the future. Duren has the physical tools to be a Bam Adebayo-type player, but he remains mind-bogglingly poor defensively and extremely limited offensively. He goes from being Adebayo one night to the worst parts of Andre Drummond the next, with empty calorie stats and mental lapses protecting the paint.
The Pistons are better with him off the floor than on it, and not by an insignificant margin. Most startlingly is that Detroit’s defense is in the bottom 25% of the league with Duren on the floor versus off, and teams are not deterred from going to the rim against him. Opposing players get to the rim more often with Duren on the floor, which was not the case last season.
If Duren is not passable on defense while also not offering anything on offense outside of putbacks and dunks, then he is a very limited player. At least Paul Reed can shoot and Isaiah Stewart has energy and physicality. Duren has left a lot to be desired.
Jaden Ivey is Just “Fine”
While Duren has been a disappointment, Jaden Ivey is one tier above that in the “fine” category. The Pistons offense is average with him on the floor versus off and the defense is slightly below league average with him flying around the court. But he is undeniably better than he was last season with career-highs in points, field goal percentage, and three-point make percentage. There is growth in some key areas, but not as significant as hoped.
The reality is that if Ivey wants to be the ideal running mate next to Cunningham, he needs to take more threes and get to the hoop more often (and ideally draw some contact). Ivey is shooting a career-best 37.8% from deep, and even higher from anywhere other than the corners, but he is taking just five per game. That number needs to be higher.
The Pistons as a team attempt the sixth-fewest free throws per game and have the fifth-worst free throw percentage, but Ivey has the skillset to be a real rim-pressure threat. Right now, he is only getting to the line twice per game. That number needs to be higher.
There was a lot of talk in the preseason about how Ivey and Cunningham would fit together. So far, lineups with both of them are in the 40th percentile, below the league average. Lineups with just Cade and Ivey on the bench fair a little better in the 51st percentile. Does this mean they can’t work together? Not necessarily. But currently the answer to the question of “Does the backcourt of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey work” is a disappointing “no”.
The Pistons can Make the Play-In Tournament
Yes, you read that correctly. The Eastern Conference is pretty weak aside from the top spots and the Pistons are a scrappy and feisty enough team to claw their way into one of the play-in spots. At the time of this writing, they reside 11th in the East but are technically tied with the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers. The Brooklyn Nets are surprisingly a half-game better than Detroit The Bulls and Nets are two teams that could look to offload players at the trade deadline and bottom out for a better draft pick, which means the Pistons should climb the standings.
But most importantly, Detroit is in the discussion. This time last season they were well, well out of things.
Quick Hits
The idea of taking Ron Holland fifth overall makes sense, as his athleticism and energy have been on full display so far this season.
Ausar Thompson still needs work to get back into game shape, and it will likely be a slow process.
Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley have been positive signings, especially the latter.
Marcus Sasser is not the answer at backup point guard, and the Pistons need to look at improving the position at the trade deadline or the offseason.
After 25 games, the Pistons look like a drastically better team with a vision, quality young players, cap space to make moves, and a coaching staff that is getting the most out of the talent on the roster. Let’s set how the remaining 69.5% of the season looks.