In the leadup to tonight’s preseason finale, a home opener against the Washington Wizards, the Pistons practiced yesterday and had an opportunity to evaluate what was and wasn’t working from Detroit’s 1118-100 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. In particular, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff worked to set the tone on what the 1-2 team is looking to accomplish as the squad closes to preseason. 

“I think we're in a good spot from an understanding standpoint, what we're trying to do,” Bickerstaff said. “We're still trying to figure out the execution of it all, but again, for them to be resilient enough to stick with it, and I thought they got a feel for it and were able to go out and execute it better in the second quarter holding a team that was playing their starters to 20 points in a quarter, I think, showed what we're capable of. And again, it's just gonna take reps for us to continue to get better.”

In the Pistons second loss of the preseason, the team was noticeably handcuffed without the steady leadership of star point guard Cade Cunningham on the court. Cunningham headlined a contingent of Pistons who missed the exhibition affair, a group including Jaden Ivey, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser. Bickerstaff was asked about the health of those players after yesterday’s practice, though the Detroit coach was a bit guarded with his responses. 

“They’re just working through some things,” Bickerstaff said. “We're just trying to do our best to put them in position to be ready to go when the season starts, so we don't want anything that's nagging now to compound and become worse.”

Now, Bickerstaff is exercising a pragmatic approach to the preseason and the outlook of his team– it’s a skill he’s learned in his 20+ years of experience in the NBA. Bickerstaff has also learned how to balance lineups and depth charts, and he recognizes that the emergence of Daniss Jenkins could go a long ways in covering up any potential absences from the collection of slightly-banged-up guards mentioned earlier. 

“I thought [Jenkins] was really good,” Bickerstaff said. “I think he got us organized. He made the right reads. You know, he plays with such good tempo. He's confident. He's not afraid of the moment. He took the challenges. I think he's one of those guys that you tell his story of resiliency and how he got here because he's a fighter. I think he went out and played that way last night, but showed his skill too. I think he's a talented player. He's an NBA player, in my mind, for sure, he’s just got to get that opportunity.”

Trajan Langdon On Cade Cunningham: ‘I Challenged Him To Lead’ Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon spoke about the Pistons during the preseason.

Against the Cavs on Tuesday, Jenkins received the starting nod from Bickerstaff with Cunningham out of the lineup. Jenkins played the most of any Detroit player on the night, logging 35 minutes to a distant second place of 24 minutes from Ausar Thompson. Perhaps Bickerstaff is preparing Jenkins for an extended run of play when the regular season starts if some parts of the group of guards aren’t quite ready to go.

The Pistons will play their final preseason game later tonight at 7 pm at home against the Cavs. 

For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage.