Defensive toughness was always going to be the path to success for the Pistons
Make no mistake, the calling card for the Detroit Pistons this season falls on the defensive end of the court. Although point guard Cade Cunningham ranks as a top 15 scorer in the NBA, the Pistons have a secure philosophy that was born around defensive toughness and security.
These principles have pushed Detroit to the top record in the Eastern Conference so far, and Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff plans to continue leaning on the team’s hard-nosed defense for as long as Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart remain out due to injury.
“It's understanding and accepting the identity of this team, who we are at our core,” Bickerstaff said after Detroit’s 98-92 loss to the Clippers on Saturday night. “We're a defensive-first team and always will be. All the successes that we ever will have will come because we're elite defensively, and then we can build our offense from there.”
To that effect, the Pistons have held three consecutive opponents under the 100 point threshold, which is quite a testament to Detroit’s fortitude in the modern, high-scoring NBA. Without Cunningham, Duren and Stewart in the lineup, Detroit reemphasized the importance of making timely switches on defense and knowing when to press and trap in the half court, and this tenacity allowed for the Pistons to hold three straight opponents to the sub-century mark.
Playing against the Clippers last night, the Pistons were in charge for most of the game before a late fourth quarter collapse filled with double-digit turnovers spelled a destructive end for Detroit. The Pistons offense went cold towards the end, scoring just 16 points in the final frame, but it was Detroit’s defense that kept the shorthanded team in the contest for that long to begin with.
“It's hard to overcome that, but I won't find anything negative in what these guys did tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “To go out and compete the way that they competed, shorthanded as they were, to put themselves in position to even have a chance at it down the stretch, I give them a ton of credit. So, when you have guys out of position and playing different spots, things happen, but the way they competed, the way they stuck together, they gave themselves a chance, there's nothing negative about what happened to these guys tonight.”
Even though the Pistons fell to 28-10 on the season, there were several bright spots scattered across the squad, especially from a defensive standpoint. Paul Reed logged five steals and two blocks in a starting role, Javonte Green chipped in four steals and two more blocks and Tolu Smith had a massive 14-rebound, four-block night as well to round out the hustle-driven core of Pistons players last night.
Now, Cunningham, Duren and Stewart have a few more days to rest up before the Pistons are back in action against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7 pm.
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