The Detroit Pistons are knocking on the door of home court advantage through most of the NBA Playoffs
Last night, the Detroit Pistons secured a Central Division title for the first time since the 2007-08 season after their 127-116 win over the Toronto Raptors on home court. While that is a notable achievement, the Pistons’ detractors have raised the reality that division championships matter less in the modern NBA.
To their point, playoff seeding trumps most regular season performances, and the Pistons also moved one game closer to clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating Toronto. Now, Detroit is just two games away from securing home field advantage through at least the first three rounds of the NBA Playoffs with six games left on the docket.
“We knew we was trying to do something special since the summer, since this core group has been together even last year,” Detroit Pistons point guard Daniss Jenkins said. “We was just working, you know what I mean? Just grinding, just scratching things off our list, you know what I mean? It’s great to accomplish things like that, but we’ve obviously got our eyes on the playoffs and want to do some damage in there, so it’s good. We’ll celebrate it tonight, but we’re back to work tomorrow.”
After the Pistons’ 11-point win last night, Jenkins spoke with the media about the resolve that Detroit had to muster in order to deliver on the second leg of a back-to-back after a loss.
“It just takes a different type of person to persevere through times like this,” Jenkins said. “It’s the nature of the NBA, but it just shows true character when you come out knowing what we was up against, and going out being able to pull this one out, it was tough.”
While Jalen Duren led the Pistons with 31 points last night, Jenkins filled in admirably for Cade Cunningham as the All-Star point guard works to recover from his collapsed lung. Jenkins recorded 21 points (2-for-4 from three-point range), five rebounds, five assists and one block against the Raptors in another strong performance for the second-year player after being thrust into the starting lineup.
Even though Cunningham and Duren reap the benefit of their stardom on the most high-profile basis in Motown, Jenkins has been an indispensable member of the Pistons squad this season. Early on, Jenkins proved his value when he stepped into the starting lineup for Cunningham early in November, and the opportunistic speedster has made the most out of his opportunities in Detroit.
Jenkins has served as the team’s go-to floor general when Cunningham is unable to play, which is impressive in its own right considering Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff could turn to Marcus Sasser, who has more tenure with Detroit, or Caris LeVert, a player that he coaches for much longer, to lead the team. But instead, Bickerstaff has confidence in the former G-League standout to carry out the principles of Detroit Basketball when out on the court as the team progresses into the postseason.
Next up, the Pistons have a day off to rest before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, April 2 at 7 pm.
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