We’re 10 games into the season, and your Detroit Pistons are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The last time Detroit finished No. 1 in the conference was 2007, and the Washington Wizards weren’t too shabby at the time, either, for their franchise standards.
Washington isn’t in the playoff hunt today. They are littered with a head-scratching mix of early 20-somethings and established veterans who one would imagine want to compete now.
Detroit is absolutely looking to compete now with its defensively slanted roster. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren are turning into one of the dominant duos in basketball, leading the charge offensively for Detroit.
The Wizards game tonight kicks off a four-game home stand where Detroit could be favored in every game. What a time to be a Pistons fan! They don’t even have their complete roster, but continue to squeak out wins.
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Peacock, Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -12
Where do you start with Jalen Duren? The 21-year-old is turning into the monster Pistons fans envisioned on draft night. He’s averaging 19 points, 12 boards, with an absurd 71% true shooting percentage. The skill and touch are evident with Duren’s 84% from the line. It’s extremely valuable when a dominant center isn’t a liability at the line.
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Duren and Cade Cunningham have clear chemistry. When the season ramps up, taking away the Cade-to-Duren connection will top teams’ priority list. That duo has hooked up for the most assists in the NBA, per PBP stats.
- Cade Cunningham to Jalen Duren (29)
- Josh Giddey to Nikola Vučević (26)
- Keyonta George to Lauri Markkanen (23)
- Tyrese Maxey to Kelly Oubre (22)
- Nikola Jokić to Christian Bruan (22)
Even when teams press that button, Duren is displaying the ability to create for him self.
When he puts it all together, he’s got faster feet than most bigs checking him and a Hulk-like physicality that deters opposing coaches from putting smalls on him. This early season stretch has been extremely fun for Duren and sketches the outline for what he could be at his peak.
The Wizards have zero players at their peak right now (I think, they hope). Their young core was pretty hyped on social media this offseason, and a lot of their young guns haven’t delivered like we thought.
Can’t say that about Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George, though. Respected NBA voices wrote off Sarr over the summer. He’s doing plenty of big man stuff now and looks like a competent NBA player. He’s leading the league in screen assists, and his efficiency has perked up.
Sarr will be a 10-year guy at the minimum. You obviously want more than that from your second overall pick, but that’s a good baseline, and he’s shown flashes of at least being star-adjacent.
George appears to be a true keeper. His versatility was highlighted throughout the draft process. All that remains is still there, but his shooting has been the most intriguing aspect of his development so far.
Shooting 48% on 5.3 3-point attempts doesn’t sound sustainable, but that’s the type of burner George is on 10 games in. None of his shooting indicators suggests he can be that level of a sniper, but being an above-average shooter just adds to his established versatility.
Besides those two, the Wizards haven’t been much different from last year in terms of player development (Tre Johnson has also been good). OGs like CJ McCollum and Kris Middleton play nearly 25+ minutes a night with all the kids. That can go one of two ways: 1. They take away minutes and reps from young players, or 2. Their leadership cultivates a culture like Tobias Harris did last year in Detroit.
The Pistons are rolling, but they are still likely without Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, Jaden Ivey, and Marcus Sasser. They are the best team in the East, record-wise, and have the 14th-ranked offense and 21st-ranked half-court offense, per Cleaning The Glass.
The deep ball shooting has been meh, but Detroit continues to find a way to get it done. Cade is as clutch as it gets, Duren has been as dominant as it gets, Ausar is as good a perimeter defender as it gets, and this Pistons team is only scratching the surface on what the rest of this season can be when they get some guys back.
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland (if no Stew again), Jalen Duren
CJ McCollum, Tre Johnson, Kris Middleton, Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr
What’s been your favorite unexpected Pistons lineup so far?
