The excellent late-season form clearly carried over into the new year, because to the surprise of NBA media and fans, the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons hold the top two spots in the East. The sample size is small, but both teams have shown major improvement compared to last season and in such an open Eastern Conference, they might really remain in the fight for the top spots.
Both teams are led by two point guards with a similar playing style, Josh Giddey and Cade Cunningham , who flirt with triple-doubles nightly and despite their lack of outside shooting, show they can dominate in various ways.
As for the team from the Motor City, it seems they have an extra edge at the center positions and possess a level of physicality few teams in the league can match. That's exactly what Kendrick Perkins pointed out on the "Road Trippin'" podcast.
"I'm looking at Cade Cunningham and I can tell you he's the third, maybe second-best player in the Eastern Conference behind Giannis Antetokounmpo right now. Those two monsters that they have down low, fuc—g Duren and 'Beef Stew', Isaiah Stewart , a lot of teams don't want to face that," Perkins said .
"I don't know if Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are ready to face those two gorillas. They're not shying away from any type of, they want all the smoke. So from a physicality standpoint, that culture is real over there. Bickerstaff got them boys playing on another level," Perkins added.
Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart might currently be the scariest center duo in the entire league.
With 4.6 offensive rebounds per game, Duren is currently second in the league behind Steven Adams , while Stewart's 2.5 offensive boards place him in the Top 20. Rodman, who was the symbol of offensive rebounding in the '80s, ranked only seventh in the entire league during the 1988–89 championship season with 4.0, clearly showing how much of a problem Duren and Stewart are.
Looking at the rest of the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a duo that could certainly have something to say in a potential battle: Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley . A perfect combination of rim protector and rim runner in Allen, with Mobley stretching the paint with his perimeter shot. But that's where the twist lies, because Duren and Stewart, thanks to their physical tools, have answers for everything.
Both can switch 1–5 and battle anyone in the paint, including the Cavs' duo. If Giannis Antetokounmpo were to face them, the two of them would form a perfect defensive wall in the paint, making it much tougher for him to explode. And it's hard to imagine Nikola Vucevic at age 35 handling the level of physicality J.B. Bickerstaff 's center duo brings.
Just like the best versions of the "Bad Boys" Pistons, or the group led by Chauncey Billups in the 2000s, this team is built on a strong defensive identity, powered by its center duo. According to StatMuse , with a 110.4 defensive rating, they currently rank third in the league behind the champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs , led by future DPOY lock (barring injuries) Victor Wembanyama , which clearly suggests the team's ceiling is extremely high.
Still, the key is Cunningham, who so far is putting up MVP-like numbers: 24.5 points, 9.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 43.8 percent from the field. What's scary is that he still looks like he can be more efficient and cut down on turnovers. If he improves that part of his game, the Pistons will become even more dangerous and Cunningham could become the legitimate successor to Isiah Thomas and Billups.
Who knows, we may be into the revival of some epic playoff battles between Detroit and Chicago this season.
Related: "We're on the way up" - Cade Cunningham says the Pistons' turnaround is just beginning
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
