For nearly a decade the Detroit Pistons have ended each season with more losses than wins. Actually, one year they were a tantalizing 41-41 but nonetheless, Piston fans have been through the ringer as of late.
However, hope is on the horizon. With a little less than half a season to go they are on pace to make the NBA Playoffs outright and finish the season with 45 wins, the most since Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace were handling the ball.
Cade Cunningham is the Difference Maker
The fourth year starter Cade Cunningham has paved the way for the Piston’s this season. Back in his rookie year(2021/22) he showed serious potential averaging 17.4 PPG, 5.6 APG and 5.5 RPG but then suffered a shin injury late in 2022 that forced him to miss the rest of the season.
The Detroit Pistons had their worst season in franchise history that year(17 wins) then proceeded to break that record the following year with Cunningham, recorded only 14 wins in the 2023/24. They tied the longest losing streak in NBA history that season at 28 games.
Sport’s Analyst Stephen A. Smith had this to say amidst their winning drought…
“You got some young bloods on their squad, I don’t know what the hell is going on. But it’s bad, it’s very, very bad.” -Stephen A. Smith, “Are the 2023 Pistons the worst team in NBA history?”
For Detroit Piston fans, this had to be a hard pill to swallow, let alone continue to sit down, turn the TV on and watch 2.5 hours of Piston’s basketball.
Well, they are being rewarded for their patience here in 2025. Cade Cunningham put up good stats during the Piston’s horrible slump but has stepped up his play this year and even more importantly, made winning plays during crunch time.
He averages 24.6 PPG(top 15 in NBA), 9.4 APG(top 3) and 6.5 RPG. In all three of these areas Cunningham has increased his output and is shooting a career high percentage from the field; 45.7% and 37.1% from three.
The Detroit Pistons currently are 23-21 and rank sixth in the Eastern Conference.
The Piston’s Supporting Cast
It hasn’t just been Cade Cunningham that has stepped up this season. His entourage of Jaden Ivey and Malik Beasley have helped Detroit return to mediocracy.
Unfortunately, Jaden Ivey suffered a broken Fibula January 1st and will likely miss the rest of the season. It’s a shame, the third years player out of Purdue was having a breakout year averaging a career high 17.6 PPG and four assists & boards a game.
Malik Beasley is having a resurgence of a season which has been a pivotal and newly added piece to the Detroit Piston’s rebuild. He was picked up in this last offseason from the Milwaukee Bucks which makes Detroit his sixth NBA home. After averaging 20 points a game for the Timberwolves back in 2019-21, he experienced a lull in scoring and for several years looked like he had peaked as a player.
But this season Beasley has emerged as the Piston’s second leading scorer with 16.2 points a game, averaging five more than 2023/24.
Veteran players have also been present, molding the younger generation into a successful team. Players like Tobias Harris, who’s in his 18th year in the NBA and Tim Hardaway Jr., who’s in his 13th, are averaging a solid 13.1 and 11.1 points per game and keep the locker room down to earth.
“They call me Uncle T around here.” Tobias said on Jan. 2 after a win versus the Orlando Magic. “I have to kind of tell these guys that I’m not really that much older than you. But, you know, the reality does hit you in the face sometimes when they’re reaching their 21st birthday.”
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2 Comments
BTW Cade Cunningham played basketball at OSU for one year. Go Pokes .
Go Pokes!