Detroit Pistons: J.B. Bickerstaff Explains New Preseason Strategy For Cade Cunningham

Through two preseason games, the Detroit Pistons already have half of their exhibition schedule in the books, and they’re sitting squarely at .500 after a pair of games that both went down to the wire. 

In Detroit’s preseason opener, rookie Ebuka Okorie was able to seal the squad’s comeback with a slick lefty scoop at the bucket to win the game, but the Pistons weren’t as lucky over the weekend given their overtime loss on the road to the Washington Wizards. 

During that second contest, the Pistons fell into another big hole early and had to climb their way back into contention by the fourth quarter, which was already a difficult task without Cade Cunningham or Jalen Duren in the lineup. Once Daniss Jenkins was ejected (and shortly followed by Ausar Thompson and Paul Reed— foul trouble), Detroit essentially shifted to an all-youngster lineup to close out regulation and force overtime, which is a notable feat in and of itself. 

Despite the Pistons’ valiant comeback, the team came up short in the extra frame and took their 114-108 OT loss on the chin, falling to 1-1 in the preseason with another tilt against the Minnesota Timberwolves arriving in two short days. But in the meantime, Detroit is working through a few new concepts on offense to give the squad a more versatile profile during the regular season, and Cunningham’s off-ball usage has risen to prominence lately given J.B. Bickerstaff’s desire to use Thompson as a point forward. 

“We’re trying to make quicker decisions,” Bickerstaff told The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson after practice today. “We’re trying to make teams have to guard us in different ways, not be as stagnant offensively where everybody can just kind of put eyes on the ball. We want them to be worried about guys off-ball and where they are and hopefully that can create some better spacing for us also.”

In other words, Detroit wants to develop a counter for the defensive coverages that Cunningham went up against during the postseason. So far, that’s involved using Thompson as a lead creator and ball handler, though the defensive menace was far more successful in that role during the team’s preseason opener. Once Cunningham left the lineup, Thompson struggled from a production standpoint versus Washington with a 1-for-7 mark from the field as a shooter, so Bickerstaff needs to be careful with his rotation when AT is at the one. 

During the offseason, the Pistons added a series of veteran shooters to their squad in hopes of creating more spacing on the perimeter, which should give Detroit some options when Thompson flexes to a more creation-heavy role. In fact, John Collins has started both preseason games at power forward for the Pistons, so he’s a 40% three-point shooter who’s expected to log a lot of minutes alongside Thompson this season. 

As for Isaiah Joe, who was another offseason addition with a history of long-range precision, the new Pistons guard has had a rough time shooting the ball in the preseason, going just 4-for-19 from the field. But after four straight seasons as a 40% shooter from downtown, the veteran sniper is expected to find his rhythm sooner rather than later with the Pistons.