MINNEAPOLIS — Since the beginning of the NBA season, J.B. Bickerstaff has emphasized how imperative it is for the Detroit Pistons to peak at the right time.
Whether it was the Pistons’ 13-game win streak that spanned across the bulk of November and tied a franchise best or their four-game losing streak to start March, Bickerstaff has been consistent in his message: Detroit needs to be at its best when approaching the postseason. With a 109-87 walloping of the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, the Pistons are right on track.
The Timberwolves were without their three best 3-point shooters in Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu, but Detroit was without its two-time All-Star Cade Cunningham (left lung pneumothorax) and one of the best rim protectors in the NBA in Isaiah Stewart (grade 1 left calf strain). The Pistons still managed to limit Minnesota to season lows in field-goal (31.8) and 3-point (20.9) percentage.
The Wolves’ absences didn’t negate what was one of the Pistons’ most stifling defensive performances of the season. Nor did they deter Detroit (54-20) from continuing to find its stride on both sides of the ball at the most opportune time, as it earned its ninth win in 11 games.
This rendition of the Pistons is now tied for the fourth-most wins in franchise history with eight games remaining, and has a real chance to become just the Pistons team to notch 60 wins.
“Nothing came easy for them,” Bickerstaff said after Saturday’s win. “Most of the shots were contested, the shots that we’ll live with. We communicated well. We were physical. I thought we did a great job defensively overall.”
Julius Randle, Minnesota’s second-leading scorer, was held to 2-of-13 shooting and missed each of his three attempts from long range. His 15.4 field-goal percentage was tied for his second-worst of the season. Naz Reid, the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year, never found his rhythm en route to a 3-of-15 shooting night. He missed each of his seven shots from distance. Guard Bones Hyland made 2 of 10 from the field.
Detroit’s 103.6 defensive rating in its last six games since Cunningham has been sidelined ranks second in the NBA. The Pistons’ 10.8 steals per game in that span rank first, and their six blocks are tied for fifth, though they rank first in both for the season.
In addition to having more intentional movement offensively in the half court, Detroit will need to sustain this level of defensive effort as the playoffs near. That shouldn’t be too difficult, given the Pistons have boasted the league’s second-best defensive rating (currently 108.7) for just about the entire season.
“They (are an) outstanding defensive team,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “They were very physical. I thought we were able to get decent looks at times. … Obviously, give credit to their defense.”
Ausar Thompson, who had a game-high four steals Saturday, is one of the NBA’s most versatile defenders and leads Detroit’s charge on that end of the floor. He’s tallied 187 stocks (130 steals and 57 blocks) through 65 games, which ranks third in the league behind San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes.
Thompson’s defensive impact can’t be overstated. He takes pride in pestering opposing teams’ best perimeter players, picking them up from 94 feet and navigating screens with ease in the process. His teammates revere what he can do.
“He’s the Defensive Player of the Year, for sure,” Duren said of Thompson after Thursday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. “What he does to ballhandlers — harassing guys, getting through screens — it’s unreal. He does it so effortlessly, and it’s night to night. It’s kind of like you get used to it, even us. … If he has a lapse or anything, it’s kind of like, damn, ‘What happened?’”
“We expect him to be Superman. He makes everybody’s job easy, whether it be the bigs in the pick-and-roll or rotations. He’s always in the passing lanes, pressuring guards full court, getting through screens full court, having teams set their offense later in the clock. … I can keep going on and on.”
Even Tobias Harris, who led the Pistons with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the win over Minnesota and isn’t known for his defensive prowess, logged a game-high three blocks. That tied a season high for the 33-year-old veteran forward.
Pistons forward Tobias Harris, guarding Minnesota’s Julius Randle here, had a strong defensive showing throughout Saturday’s game. (Matt Krohn / Imagn Images)
Like the rest of his Detroit teammates, Harris has completely bought into the defensive standard Bickerstaff demands.
“I just like our focus level and our intention,” he said when asked what the key has been to staying afloat without Cunningham. “Outside noise would say one thing about our team, but us in the locker room, we look at each other and as soon as we get out on that floor, we know what time it is. We know what we expect of one another.
“We’ve been winning games this season based on how hard we play and our defensive effort, so we know what we’re capable of on a nightly basis. We just stick to the script.”
Once Cunningham and Stewart are back in the fold and the Pistons are at full strength, they should be poised for a serious postseason run. Outings like Saturday only give more credence to Bickerstaff’s call for his team to be peaking at the perfect time. And Detroit plans to keep building on the momentum its established.
“It’s a huge stretch for us.” Harris said of the Pistons’ final regular-season games. “We obviously have a great group that trusts one another. We come in the locker room and every day we get together, we expect to go out to these games and win. We just expect to give ourselves a chance every night by how hard we play. We know we’re waiting for guys to get back healthy, come back and help us in the run we’re trying to make.
“At the same time, it’s a good opportunity for other guys to get themselves in a rhythm, get themselves going and for us to figure out different ways to explore different options on the floor for us to be successful.”