Perched atop the Eastern Conference at 19-5, the Detroit Pistons have enjoyed a few extra days off after bowing out of the NBA Cup early. Five days off, to be exact, to rest up before facing the Atlanta Hawks at home on Friday, Dec. 12. 

Before this impromptu break, the Pistons had won four of their last five games, including two straight in a back-to-back stretch. So, Detroit had been experiencing a positive run of form, topping the Blazers by six points at home last Friday before doubling their victory margin to 12 points the next night against the Milwaukee Bucks. 

But over the past several days, the Pistons have had a chance to sit down and take a look at the first quarter of the regular season from a wide lens. During the rigors of an 82-game schedule, teams often only have one day off in between games to break down what’s working and what needs more attention, and that off day is usually filled with travel of some sort. So, this prolonged period has allowed for Detroit to get together and practice with a high attention to detail to help perfect an already well-oiled machine. 

“I think it's good for us,” Bickerstaff said of the break. “Obviously, we would love to be playing in the cup right now, but the benefit of this is we had some guys that were pretty banged up. This is an opportunity to get those guys some rest, but also for us to get some practice time. You play six games in nine nights, you don't get a lot of time to practice and work on the things that you really need to work on, so there's a little bit of slippage. So hopefully for us today, tomorrow will be two great days of practice, and we'll be able to get a ton of work in.”

As Bickerstaff mentioned, Pistons forward Tobias Harris suffered a sprained ankle shortly before the team’s last game on Saturday, so the break is coming at a good time for the 15-year veteran. In addition to that injury, Detroit forward Bobi Klintman has also been dealing with a sprained ankle of his own, one that he suffered during a G-League game with the Motor City Cruise, and he has not returned to the lineup yet either. 

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Detroit's Do-It-All Performance

When looking at the Pistons’ results over 25% of the season, Detroit is clearly a squad that will turn in a positive report with a top five defense anchoring a top 10 offense on the other side of the ball. That well-rounded attack has allowed for the Pistons to overwhelm teams when games get a bit sticky, and Detroit leads the league with 13 clutch wins up to this point, which is a testament to the poise from star point guard Cade Cunningham, among others. 

So far, Cunningham is averaging 27.5 points, 9.3 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game– all of which would be career-high marks for the fifth-year All-Star guard. Jalen Duren is truly blossoming as a dangerous secondary scoring option opposite Cunningham, and Duren is posting nearly 20-10 numbers on a nightly basis, though his volume has slipped as of late. The two have engineered a high-octane offense for the Pistons, one that compliments the team’s hard-nosed defensive approach on the other end.

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To that effect, Isaiah Stewart is having one of the most impressive defensive seasons from a bench player in recent memory. Beef Stew is contributing two blocks per game on under 25 minutes per night, so he’s making an impact each time he steps on the court and makes opposing teams earn every bucket they get at the rim. 

All together, the Pistons are checking a lot of the right statistical boxes, but the key is that these numbers mesh together in a productive fashion that results in victories according to Bickerstaff. 

“The thing that is more important for us, though, is that those numbers are impactful, right?” Bickerstaff said. “There's a lot of times you'll see guys that just have empty numbers, but if you look at our guys, our guys’ numbers serve a purpose, right? How we share the ball, how we finish possessions, how we protect the rim, like all those things matter and impact winning. So, those numbers are important, but they're more important because they impact winning for us.”

After the Pistons experienced a taste of postseason basketball last year, Detroit is eager to not only reach the playoffs once again but to stick around for longer than a cup of coffee this time. The Pistons understand that their hard-working, pressure-oriented brand of basketball is difficult for other teams to deal with, and they’re working to unleash their deep arsenal on unsuspecting NBA teams along the way. 

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