The Pistons enter the All-Star break with a 29-26 record, their first winning record heading into the NBA’s annual celebration weekend since 2009. They’ll also carry a four-game winning streak into their next game on Feb. 21. Detroit recorded double-digit victories at Chicago on consecutive nights on Tuesday and Wednesday and currently hold a top-six playoff spot.
“We are pleased with what we have done,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. per Cory Davis of the Detroit News. “From where we came from to where we are now, there have been a lot of tough lessons learned, and that has been the enjoyable part of this. … A lot of growth. We are pleased with it, but we have a lot more work to do.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- With the acquisition of De’Andre Hunter, the Cavaliers essentially have a three-year championship window, as Jason Lloyd of The Athletic explains. The core group of the team is under contract through the 2026/27 season and the Cavs will likely have to exceed the second tax apron to keep it together. If Evan Mobley makes an All-NBA team this season, his max contract will increase and leave them above that level. The penalties for being above the second apron steadily increase if a team remains there for two or more seasons.
- In a subscriber-only story, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com notes that Hunter may not necessarily wind up as a starter. Max Strus has been effective in the starting small forward spot and he’s averaging 15.3 points and 3.8 assists over the last three games.
- Alex Len was reportedly going to sign with the Pacers after he cleared waivers. Instead, he chose to go to the Lakers and the Pacers gave veteran big man Jahlil Okafor a 10-day contract. Okafor had been toiling in the G League with the Indiana Mad Ants. “We’re taking care of our own here. There were other options, but we elected to bring somebody on board that has been with us for the entirety of the Mad Ants season,” coach Rick Carlisle said, per Akeem Glaspie of the Indianapolis Star. “That’s loyalty to show to someone who’s shown loyalty to us, which is great. And I wish him the best.”
- Aaron Nesmith, who opened the season in the Pacers’ starting lineup, reclaimed his spot this week, with Bennedict Mathurin moving back to the second unit. Carlisle said Nesmith provides a different element to the starting five, Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star writes. “It creates a better balance on our team,” Carlisle said. “Benn’s a scorer, and Benn needs to get shots, and we have (Tyrese Haliburton) and Pascal (Siakam) out there to start games. This just makes it work better from an offensive standpoint.”
Hopefully Okafor will stick. He is a great guy!
Good for the city of Detroit having a winner again in basketball. I watched both games against the Bulls this week and they just are ferocious and relentless when attacking at the rim. Well coached as well. I’m not sure if they will be a FA destination but the culture is being established there game by game and their record shows it. Kudos to the Pistons for finally playing to what everyone said a few years ago.
Bickerstaff has to be up for Coach of the Year. Development of Ausar has also been huge.
He will definitely get votes but I don’t see how anyone tops Atkinson
Udoka???
My guess is those are the top 3 finishers
Seriously? The Pistons are far and away the worst NBA team of the last decade. They’ve went from having one of the worst seasons in NBA history to possibly playing for home-court advantage, while losing their lead SG (Ivey) for likely the entire season. The Cavs were 4th in the East the last two years straight. Atkinson getting it would be rather absurd.
I’d argue that it’s easier to go from awful to decent (like the Pistons) than it is to go from good to great (like the Cavs). Bickerstaff has done an amazing job so I hate to sound like I’m dismissing what he’s done, but they were so young that it wasn’t unrealistic to at least expect some internal improvement just from players developing. (Yes, after last season they could ONLY improve, but the point still stands.)
Atkinson has pretty much the exact same roster that Bickerstaff had with the Cavs last year. They’ve managed to go from a pretty good team with a second round ceiling, to a team that’s on the short list of genuine title contenders without really adding anyone at all other than a healthy year from Ty Jerome and drafting Tyson (who’s been decent but is still at the end of their rotation).
Whether Atkinson actually wins it or not, it’s not “rather absurd” to think he deserves it.
While I respect your opinion, you are completely dismissing what the Pistons have done this year. Saying “not to be dismissive” doesn’t change the fact that it’s exactly what you’re doing. The Cavs have, once again, been a playoff team for the last half decade. All of their star players simply playing even better with another season together doesn’t mean squat. Being one of the worst teams in NBA history to a legitimate possibility for home-court in the playoffs in a single season is MUCH more impressive than a playoff team simply improving by a handful of wins. The Cavs have almost 100 wins in the last 2 seasons. Atkinson being a COY candidate is a complete joke.
Well – it isn’t the Cleveland Mad Ants….and Nesmith did not immediately return to starting lineup – just did over last couple games but has been back longer.
Thanks for the updates to the article!