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How The Detroit Pistons Locked Down 3 Stars In 3 Games
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- How The Detroit Pistons Locked Down 3 Stars In 3 Games
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
After three games, the Detroit Pistons are already back in the top spot with regards to the rest of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons, who are 3-0 after three tough matchups , are the only undefeated team left in the East, and the squad is closing in on nearly 12 consecutive months with the top seed in the conference.
Overall, the Pistons have shifted their style of offensive attack over the offseason while remaining uncompromising about their identity. After three games, Detroit has the fourth-most triples on their resume when compared to the rest of the NBA, a statistic that could never be true one year ago.
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But despite the stylistic change to a more perimeter-oriented team with the rock, the Pistons are resolute in their structure as a defensively-sound, physical team that can shut down any opponent on any given night. That ethos has been preached by head coach J.B. Bickerstaff since the first day he arrived in Motown, and it remains a focal point during the 2026-27 campaign as well.
"We just want to be playing good basketball, and that's got to be consistent for us," Bickerstaff said after taking down the 76ers on the road. "I don't know that we've played our best basketball yet. I think that's going to take some time for us to see the matchups, the pairings, all those things, the execution of things at full speed, but as long as compete the way we do, as long as we play Pistons Basketball the way that we do, we'll give ourselves a chance any night."
Right now, the Pistons are working through an early-season challenge after losing both Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson during the second game of the regular season, but they've found a way to remain defensively solvent in their absence. After Detroit held Jayson Tatum to a 6-for-23 shooting performance in the season opener, the Pistons throttled Bam Adebayo to the tune of 2-for-6 with four points on the night before goading a 5-for-20 performance out of Jaylen Brown on the road. That makes three consecutive games where Detroit has ostensibly shut down one of the other team's primary scoring threats, and that strategy has paid dividends considering the Pistons record thus far.
Once Thompson went down with a sprained ankle against the Heat, Ron Holland II stepped up his performance right away and took on many of the defensive matchups that AT would've otherwise handled. In fact, Holland was primarily responsible for frustrating Brown on Sunday night , and Detroit's third-year stopper grabbed a whopping nine rebounds off the bench along the way.
Without Thompson in the lineup, Holland has an opportunity to impact the game in a similar fashion given the similarities between their play styles, so it will be intriguing to see which players he picks up defensively against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. The tenacious Detroit wing repeatedly forced Brown into taking uncomfortable shots against the Sixers, so the Pistons could deploy that defensive prowess against Jalen Brunson if Thompson's not healthy enough to suit up.
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Taking the road tomorrow to face the reigning NBA Champions, the Pistons will take the court without Duren, the 22-year old All-Star center, since he's currently nursing a strained right hamstring. As a result, Paul Reed is expected to step into the lineup, but Holland should have an elevated role no matter what.
Last season, the Pistons swept the Knicks 3-0 in the season series with an average margin of victory hovering right around 30 points per game, so Detroit will look to keep their winning streak against New York rolling when the battle starts at 8 pm in Madison Square Garden tomorrow night.
