NBA Cup success gives Detroit Pistons urgency in rebuild: 'We're going for it'

NBA Cup success gives Detroit Pistons urgency in rebuild: ‘We’re going for it’

Posted by Admin November 30, 2024 NBA

INDIANAPOLIS — A year ago, the NBA’s in-season tournament — bearing a name featuring a few capital letters and no sponsor — barely registered upon the Detroit Pistons’ psyche. They were mired in what would become a league-record 28-game losing streak, with defeats in all four tourney games.

Organizationally, they had issues to solve that made the tournament an afterthought.

Things are much different in the tourney’s second season. Playing in a tourney with a fresh name — the Emirates NBA Cup — the Pistons improved to 3-0 in round-robin East Group B play with a commanding 130-106 road victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Last November, the Pacers crushed the Pistons in group play, 136-113, then went on to reach the championship game (with a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers).

This November? With a win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, the Pistons (9-12 overall) would win their group and advance to the knockout stage, which consists of three single-elimination rounds — one on homecourts before the semifinals and a championship game in Las Vegas in December.

After their loss to the Lakers, the Pacers finished the season with 47 regular-season wins, their highest total in five seasons. Their tournament run was an early sign that they were turning a corner.

Likewise, after last season’s debacle, an NBA Cup would provide physical evidence —- in the form of a banner — of the growth the Pistons have shown through the first month. Bringing home hardware has become a driving focus for the team.

“The sense of urgency is high for sure,” said guard Cade Cunningham, who finished with 24 points and 11 assists in his return from missing three games with a left sacroiliac joint sprain. “We need every game we can get anyways, but I remember last year, Indiana ran it up on us in the in-season tournament and how serious they took it. They were going for points, they just beat us up.

“This game was really personal for us, but in general, we all wanna go to Vegas and we all want to experience winning something. We’re going for it.”

For a franchise approaching 17 years without a playoff win — dating back to the 2008 postseason — the NBA Cup has given the Pistons an opportunity to play high-stakes basketball and learn lessons that accompany such an environment.

First-year head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has talked about the importance of getting reps in such situations; on Friday night, the Pistons were able to problem-solve in real time to put together their best offensive performance of the season. Despite turning the ball over 18 times, the Pistons dominated by shooting 57.8% — a season high — and dishing out 35 assists, also a season high.

It was a flip from their performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Without Cunningham and Tobias Harris, who also returned on Friday, the Pistons’ offense fell apart in the second half en route to a 20-point defeat.

Defensively, the Pistons looked closer to the team that boasted a top-10 rating through the first 15 games.

“We just wanted to control ourselves tonight and make sure we got our defense back, and that just took it to a whole ‘nother level,” said Malik Beasley, who led the Pistons with 25 points. “No matter what type of game it is, if we continue to do that, the way we had fun tonight sharing the ball and having each other’s backs, it can take us a long way.”

The Pistons didn’t pick up their ninth win last season until Feb. 27. In their first year under Bickerstaff, they’re on pace to win 35 games — 21 wins beyond last season’s total of 14. They entered Saturday tied for fifth in wins among Eastern Conference teams.

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There were multiple moments Friday when the Pacers appeared to be on the cusp of a game-altering run, before the Pistons silenced their efforts with a bucket. When Indiana cut it to 10 midway through the fourth, Harris knocked down a corner 3-pointer as time expired, ensuring the Pistons would lead by double-digits the rest of the way.

They shot 13-for-19 in the final period, including six made 3s. A team known for late collapses is learning how to keep its foot on the gas.

That’s what playoff teams do, and it’s what the Pistons believe the NBA Cup will help them become.

“This was important for us, and our guys approached it that way,” Bickerstaff said. “With the exception of the turnovers, I thought we did a really good job of executing all those little things that help you win basketball games.

“Our guys wanted to win. They came out with a sense of urgency. We talked about it, but this gives our guys an opportunity to play games of significance and see how they respond. I thought our guys did a great job of responding in a positive way, playing with that sense of urgency that you need to play with to win games of significance.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.