Detroit Pistons Winning Streak: Proving Defense and Attacking the Paint Is a Winning Combo

The Detroit Pistons' winning streak has reached 10 games in a row, the first since 2008, on their way to their best start since 2005-06 (12-2). Every offseason for the last decade has seen Pistons fans and media clamoring about three-point shooting. This offseason, many pundits suggested the Pistons trade Jalen Duren to get a more "three and d" center. Even still, mock trade articles (read: absent-minded clickbait) have argued that the Pistons aren't that good and that they need another star or more three point shooting.

"Cade Cunningham" by Navin75 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The reality is this Pistons team is doing what every great Detroit Pistons team has done in the past: defy the league narrative. Since the Golden State Warriors won their titles with excellent three-point shooting, the narrative has become that three-point shooting is the most important factor in winning. Yet, this has been proven untrue. The Oklahoma City Thunder were a middle-of-the-pack three-point shooting team. They won the title by attacking the basket, playing the midrange, and protecting the rim.

The 2024-25 Pistons aren't the Bad Boys, and they aren't the Goin' to Work team, but they are similar in that they are finding their own path to the title. The Pistons have found success through offense, defense, and depth.

Detroit Pistons Winning Streak: Offense

As of writing this article, the Pistons lead the league in points in the paint (58.9). They get downhill and either get a shot off or dish it to a cutter or a rim-running big. The great lie about the three-point shot is that the offense should be run through it. Instead, three-point shooting is valuable to keep a defense honest. Duncan Robinson has shot well enough (.416%) to keep defenses honest.

More importantly, the team is shooting a high percentage overall (.477). Paul Reed, Ausar Thompson, Caris LeVert, and Jalen Duren are all shooting over .500. This is in large part because of shot selection. The Pistons this season have displayed an increasing discipline to work for good shots, not easy shots.

There is a reason teams are okay with early possession and contested threes. That's low efficiency. Working the ball around, getting in the paint, and having players cut to the basket forces defenses to "pack it in." Then, the kickouts to Robinson, Cade Cunningham, and even Daniss Jenkins are good shots, not because they are threes, but because they are open, in rhythm, and have forced the defense to work.

No player exemplifies this philosophy better than Duren, who is shooting .674 from the field. Last night against the Indiana Pacers, he had 31 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 12/13 from the field. He got a lot of dunks, yes. But he also made a few jump shots. No threes. Compare him to a few of the players the media clamored for Detroit to add over the summer.

Player	PPG	RPG	Age
Jalen Duren	20.3	12.3	22
Brook Lopez	6.6	2.2	37
Naz Reid	12.3	6.1	26
Nikola Vucevic	15.8	10.0	35

Some might say they value those players' defense, but ultimately, they do only one thing better than Duren: shoot threes. Duren is younger, more athletic, and has an increasingly heightening ceiling. The Pistons are on the rise because they chose to value his ability to attack the basket over the media's preference for jacking up threes.

Detroit Pistons Winning Streak: Defense

The Detroit Pistons have the second-best defensive rating in the NBA (Oklahoma City Thunder). Should it come as a surprise that these two teams have the NBA's best record as well? The Thunder are 18th and the Pistons 29th in percentage of points that come from three pointers. Could it be that defense matters in the NBA? Of course it does. Even the Golden State Warriors teams that dominated the league for five to six seasons played strong defense.

The Pistons' emphasis on defense is getting more attention because of their increased blocks and steals (top three in both), but those stats don't necessarily correlate with winning. What matters most is that they are getting stops and holding opponents to 112 points per game. The teams in the top ten of points allowed per game have winning records. For comparison, two of the top ten teams in steals and blocks are well below .500. Three teams in the bottom ten in steals per game are over .500, and five teams at the bottom ten in blocks per game are over .500.

The Pistons have players who do those things, like Isaiah Stewart, who is becoming more reminiscent of Ben Wallace with an offensive game. Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland both get close to two steals per game. What's important is that they force the other team to take tough shots. Javonte Green is a player who comes to mind when considering a strong defensive player whose contributions don't show up in the box score. Players like him, Jenkins, and Thompson frustrate players and make timely plays on defense.

Detroit Pistons Winning Streak: Depth

Perhaps the most important thing the Pistons have is their depth. Many were panicked about the offseason losses of Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, and Dennis Schröder. Those players were important to last season's success (tripling the win total and first playoff win since 2008), but the Pistons have reloaded and then some.

Re-signing Paul Reed was written off as not that important (because he doesn't shoot threes), but he's been an important part of this win streak, 15.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.3 steals per game over the last three.

Javonte Green is perhaps the most underrated signing Trajan Langdon has made, including Daniss Jenkins. Green was signed with little fanfare (because he didn't shoot threes). Green has proven a valuable rotation piece, largely because of his defense but not solely. He is averaging 15.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game over his last four games.

Of course, Daniss Jenkins' emergence as a rotation player is the most surprising. He is the Pistons' best two-way contract since its inception in 2017. Jenkins wasn't highly valued by most (because he didn't shoot threes), but he has always had a good sense for running the point and playing good defense. Over his last four games, he is averaging 21.8 points and 7.8 assists while shooting 47.6% from beyond the arc.

It's this kind of depth that can allow the Pistons to succeed in the playoffs because it's not a matter of if a player gets hurt, but when. The Pistons have shown they can adapt to adversity. Having six or seven rotation players out and maintaining a win streak with the same principles of attacking the paint and playing elite defense shows that this team is for real. They may not be as flashy as the Thunder or as good a shooting team as the Celtics, but this Pistons team, like champions of the past, doesn't care what the media thinks. They care about winning.

(Stats provided by Basketball Reference, StatMuse, and NBA.com)

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