These aren’t last season’s Detroit Pistons.
Last season’s Pistons were the worst team in the NBA, finishing with a 14-68 record and at one point setting a dubious single-season record with 28 consecutive losses.
That was last season.
This season’s Pistons — with an ascendant young roster, some savvy veteran additions and a head coach who’s made all the difference — learned how to win.
And now they’re the Knicks’ problem.
Here’s what you need to know about the sixth-seeded Pistons before they tip off against the third-seeded Knicks on Saturday night for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series at Madison Square Garden.
TERRIFIC TURNAROUND
The Pistons made all kinds of history by increasing their win total by a whopping 30 games.
That 30-game improvement is the largest ever for a team that won fewer than 20 games the year before.
They are the first team to triple its win total from one season to the next.
The reward? The Pistons are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 — with a chance to win their first postseason game since 2008.
Detroit’s current 14-game losing streak in the playoffs is the longest in NBA history.
COACHING CREDIT
The Pistons’ upturn started with the hiring of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers after last postseason’s second-round exit against the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
Under Bickerstaff, the Pistons have embraced a hard-nosed style in which they wear down opponents with physicality and effort.
Bickerstaff is one of the top contenders for NBA Coach of the Year.
CADE PARADE
It wasn’t only a coaching change that spurred the Pistons’ resurgence.
Cade Cunninghman, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, took the next step and became an All-Star for the first time.
After three solid but injury-plagued seasons to begin his career, the 6-6 point guard set career highs with 26.1 points and 9.1 assists per game during his breakout 2024-25 campaign.
VENERABLE VETERANS
In addition to the rise of Cunninghman and other recent lottery picks, the Pistons benefited from the infusion of proven role players.
Offseason signing Malik Beasley averaged 16.3 points per game and shot 41.6% on 3-pointers. Fellow offseason additions Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris have been relied-upon starters.
And trade-deadline acquisition Dennis Schroder has provided a two-way spark off the bench.
BAD BOYS
These Pistons have a nasty streak that’s begun to draw light comparisons to the “Bad Boy” teams of the 1980s and ’90s.
Isaiah Stewart, their bruising backup center, tied for second in the NBA with four flagrant fouls and is a big reason why Detroit excels at limiting points in the paint. Ausar Thompson, too, is an excellent defender. Schroder, with his hounding pressure, continues to pester opposing guards.
Certainly, nobody is putting this year’s group on the level of Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer and company yet, but physicality is these Pistons’ identity.
Detroit ranked 10th in the NBA with a 112.5 defensive rating in the regular season.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Pistons won the season series against the Knicks, 3-1, and swept them at the Garden.
Bickerstaff has credited an early-season win at MSG for helping to instill confidence in his young players that they could compete with the NBA’s better teams.
Cunninghman, 23, was particularly problematic for the Knicks, averaging 30.8 points and 8.3 assists in their four meetings and delivering a triple-double in one of them.
It’s worth noting OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson did not play in the Knicks’ final loss against the Pistons last week in Detroit. Robinson did not appear in any of the Knicks’ games against the Pistons.
PLAYOFF PRESSURE
Working against the Pistons is a lack of playoff experience.
Cunningham, Stewart, Thompson, Jalen Duran and Ron Holland II will all be making their postseason debuts.
And a rocking Garden isn’t exactly the easiest place for playoff newcomers to settle in.
IMPORTANT INJURY
The Pistons won’t be playing at full strength.
Jaden Ivey, a third-year guard and Detroit’s second-leading scorer, is working his way back from the broken left fibula he suffered on Jan. 1.
The former No. 5 overall pick was cleared last week to resume basketball activities, but that’s only the first step in his ramp-up. Ivey, who averages 17.6 points per game, will be re-evaluated in another week.
