Cade Cunningham, Pistons off to historic 6-2 start after tak...

Cade Cunningham, Pistons off to historic 6-2 start after taking down Jazz

The Detroit Pistons are one of the hottest teams in the NBA after winning their fourth straight game, this time against the Utah Jazz in a 114-103 triumph. This win propelled Detroit to 6-2, its best season start since 2008-09. The Pistons soared to second place in the Eastern Conference and in the Central Division. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff commented on the team’s slow first half and how they managed to rebound after during the postgame media session. “That first half, we weren’t satisfied with the way that we defended. We knew we were capable of more. And that was the tone at halftime – we just got to go out and play Pistons basketball,” Bickerstaff explained. “The first half, we kind of messed around with the game a little bit on the defensive end. They have good offensive players, so if you do that, they’re capable of keeping up with your state of the game. But I thought we did a great job setting the tone coming out in the third quarter.” The first half was not ideal basketball for Detroit, even while keeping the score close. Utah led by as many as 12 points early in the contest. After trailing by two at halftime, the Pistons turned up their defensive intensity by holding the Jazz to 14 points in the third quarter. Detroit stuck to its foundation to cruise to another home victory. They were dominant at the rim, scoring 60 points in the paint and only allowing 36 from Utah. The Pistons’ defensive effort was impressive, blocking six shots by the Jazz. Four of those six blocks came from Isaiah Stewart. A 20-20 night for Jalen Duren Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images One of the most important developments of the season has been the breakthrough growth of starting center Jalen Duren. The fourth-year big man left his stamp on this game with a dominant performance, notching 22 points and 22 rebounds in 34 minutes. This marks the fourth double-double of the season and Duren’s fourth 20-20 game of his career. Bickerstaff spoke on how impactful the 21-year-old center was on both ends for the Pistons. “He just creates so many problems for defenses and offenses alike,” Bickerstaff said. “When he’s finishing and closing possessions for us on the defensive end of the floor, only giving people one opportunity, that gives our offense a chance to get out and get running. When he finishes, challenges, contests, or he rebounds the ball, it limits the opportunities that the offense gets. So, there’s so many ways that he’s helping us. “Tonight was a different night for him too. Being on the perimeter more, switching more… Teams have to make adjustments. And when you got teams making adjustments through the season and they don’t have a ton of practice time, there’s typically holes there. So, he was able to exploit those holes.” Clutch Cade Cunningham continues Another positive trend for the Pistons has been the late-game emergence of All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham. Detroit’s floor general finished the night with 31 points, but 19 of those came in the final period. Cunningham is currently first in the NBA with the most points in the fourth quarter at 86. The Pistons’ lead playmaker has also been careful with fixing one of his biggest issues of his career. Cunningham added 10 assists with only three turnovers. This marks Cunningham’s fourth double-double of the season. Bickerstaff was proud of the progression made by his point guard in taking better care of the basketball. “Growth, right? Understanding what plays are there, and making the simple one over and over again. I think last year, if you go back and watch it, he got caught up in some of the home-run plays. And that’s where the turnovers came from,” Bickerstaff said. “But I think this year, he’s being much more deliberate with his passes, understanding what’s there, and living in the moment. [Cade] understands how that one turnover can impact so much. It can be a momentum shift. So, I think he’s done a great job of maintaining himself in the moment and just making a simple read.”

The Detroit Pistons are one of the hottest teams in the NBA after winning their fourth straight game, this time against the Utah Jazz in a 114-103 triumph.
This win propelled Detroit to 6-2, its best season start since 2008-09. The Pistons soared to second place in the Eastern Conference and in the Central Division.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff commented on the team’s slow first half and how they managed to rebound after during the postgame media session.
“That first half, we weren’t satisfied with the way that we defended. We knew we were capable of more. And that was the tone at halftime – we just got to go out and play Pistons basketball,” Bickerstaff explained. “The first half, we kind of messed around with the game a little bit on the defensive end. They have good offensive players, so if you do that, they’re capable of keeping up with your state of the game. But I thought we did a great job setting the tone coming out in the third quarter.”
The first half was not ideal basketball for Detroit, even while keeping the score close. Utah led by as many as 12 points early in the contest. After trailing by two at halftime, the Pistons turned up their defensive intensity by holding the Jazz to 14 points in the third quarter.
Detroit stuck to its foundation to cruise to another home victory. They were dominant at the rim, scoring 60 points in the paint and only allowing 36 from Utah. The Pistons’ defensive effort was impressive, blocking six shots by the Jazz. Four of those six blocks came from Isaiah Stewart.
A 20-20 night for Jalen Duren
Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
One of the most important developments of the season has been the breakthrough growth of starting center Jalen Duren. The fourth-year big man left his stamp on this game with a dominant performance, notching 22 points and 22 rebounds in 34 minutes.
This marks the fourth double-double of the season and Duren’s fourth 20-20 game of his career.
Bickerstaff spoke on how impactful the 21-year-old center was on both ends for the Pistons.
“He just creates so many problems for defenses and offenses alike,” Bickerstaff said. “When he’s finishing and closing possessions for us on the defensive end of the floor, only giving people one opportunity, that gives our offense a chance to get out and get running. When he finishes, challenges, contests, or he rebounds the ball, it limits the opportunities that the offense gets. So, there’s so many ways that he’s helping us.
“Tonight was a different night for him too. Being on the perimeter more, switching more… Teams have to make adjustments. And when you got teams making adjustments through the season and they don’t have a ton of practice time, there’s typically holes there. So, he was able to exploit those holes.”
Clutch Cade Cunningham continues
Another positive trend for the Pistons has been the late-game emergence of All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham. Detroit’s floor general finished the night with 31 points, but 19 of those came in the final period. Cunningham is currently first in the NBA with the most points in the fourth quarter at 86.
The Pistons’ lead playmaker has also been careful with fixing one of his biggest issues of his career. Cunningham added 10 assists with only three turnovers. This marks Cunningham’s fourth double-double of the season.
Bickerstaff was proud of the progression made by his point guard in taking better care of the basketball.
“Growth, right? Understanding what plays are there, and making the simple one over and over again. I think last year, if you go back and watch it, he got caught up in some of the home-run plays. And that’s where the turnovers came from,” Bickerstaff said. “But I think this year, he’s being much more deliberate with his passes, understanding what’s there, and living in the moment. [Cade] understands how that one turnover can impact so much. It can be a momentum shift. So, I think he’s done a great job of maintaining himself in the moment and just making a simple read.”