The Detroit Pistons are 5-1 for the first time since 2015-16, and the best explanation for it has nothing to do with scoring. After Friday’s 110-94 win at Brooklyn in their NBA Cup opener, no team has shot better than 45.5 percent against them this season. Here’s the twist: the offense that opened the year at 118.3 points per game has cooled, and the defense has simply refused to let it matter.
Pistons Defensive Start: No Opponent Above 45.5 Percent
Brooklyn shot 40 percent on Friday, and Detroit won the third quarter 36-17 to turn a 56-49 halftime edge into a 92-66 rout. Eight Nets turnovers became 12 Pistons points. That follows a 97-89 win over Charlotte, where Detroit trailed at halftime, then held the Hornets under 90 points.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s explanation was simple: that’s where his team gets its mojo, “when it’s gritty, when it’s nasty.” The Pistons have been doing it without Jalen Duren, who has a hamstring strain, and Isaiah Joe.
The Offense Is Cooling, and It Doesn’t Matter
Through a 3-0 start, Detroit scored 118.3 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting. In the two games before Brooklyn, it averaged 97 points on 43.6 percent shooting, 35 percent from three. The Pistons also fell behind 28-21 after the first quarter against the Nets. They still won by 16. That’s the point of a defense like this: it doesn’t have to wait for the shots to fall. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 20 points on Friday, Duncan Robinson added 17, and Paul Reed had 12.
Ron Holland’s Night Says More About the Depth
The best sign came from the bench. Ron Holland II, the No. 5 pick in 2024, entered the game averaging more turnovers and fouls than points. He finished the game with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 2-of-5 from three, and four steals in 22 minutes, including 12 points in the third quarter. Bickerstaff credited the growth Holland has shown and his commitment to the work. When your sixth or seventh option can turn a game like that, the defense has a lot more room to operate.
Six games is a small sample, and the Pistons have yet to prove they can score every night. But the Pistons defensive start gives them a floor that most teams don’t have. Opponents have found plenty of ways to lose to Detroit. Shooting over it hasn’t been one of them.
Pistons Defensive Start Is Covering for an Offense That Went Cold