Preseason basketball is weird. You’ve got starters playing twelve minutes, guys in jerseys you don’t recognize hoisting shots from the logo, and a general vibe that feels more like a high-end scrimmage than a professional sporting event. But for a team like the Pistons, every Detroit Pistons preseason game is basically a high-stakes laboratory experiment.
Most fans check the final score, see a loss, and shrug. That’s a mistake.
If you’re watching closely, you’re seeing the blueprint for the entire winter being drafted in real-time. It’s about the spacing. It’s about whether Cade Cunningham has that extra half-second of breathing room because a shooter actually pulled a defender away from the rim. Honestly, the wins and losses in October are irrelevant, but the "how" and the "why" behind the play on the floor tell us everything we need to know about the trajectory of this franchise under J.B. Bickerstaff.
The Cade Cunningham Gravity Problem
Everything starts and ends with Cade. In a typical Detroit Pistons preseason game, the primary objective is to see how the team functions when the ball is in his hands. For years, the problem hasn't been Cade; it's been the lack of gravity around him. When you have non-shooters clogging the paint, Cade is basically trying to drive through a crowded elevator.
Look at the film from these preseason matchups.
You’ll notice a shift in the offensive geometry. With the addition of veterans like Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley, the floor is finally opening up. This isn't just about making shots—it's about the threat of the shot. If Beasley is standing in the corner, his defender can't sag off to help on a Cade drive. That simple change gives Cunningham the space to operate in the mid-range, which is where he’s most lethal. It’s a domino effect. Better spacing leads to better looks, which leads to higher efficiency, which leads to—hopefully—actually winning some games in the fourth quarter.
Development vs. Discovery
Preseason isn't just for the stars. It's for the "who is that guy?" players.
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Take a look at the fringe of the roster. Guys like Ron Holland II are fighting for a defined role. In a Detroit Pistons preseason game, a rookie's job isn't necessarily to put up 20 points. It's to show they can navigate a screen without getting lost or that they can make the "one more" pass when the defense rotates. Holland’s athleticism is undeniable, but the preseason is where he has to prove he understands NBA-level defensive rotations. If he's blowing assignments in October, he's sitting in December.
Then there’s the Jalen Duren factor.
Duren is a physical marvel, a literal mountain of a human being. But we've seen him struggle with defensive positioning and consistency. During these exhibition games, the coaching staff is pushing him to be the anchor. It's about communication. You can hear it if you're sitting close enough to the court—or if the broadcast mics pick it up—the constant chatter required to coordinate a modern NBA defense. If Duren isn't talking, the defense is failing. Preseason is the only time he can make these mistakes without it costing the team a spot in the standings.
The Bickerstaff Effect on Rotations
New coaches usually bring new philosophies. J.B. Bickerstaff isn't interested in flashy, high-speed chaos if it leads to turnovers. He wants grit. He wants a defense that makes the opponent hate every second they're on the floor.
- Defensive Intensity: Watch the ball pressure. Are the guards fighting over screens or dying on them?
- The Bench Mix: Seeing which combinations of vets and youngsters actually have chemistry.
- Transition Discipline: Stopping the easy buckets. The Pistons have been notorious for giving up fast-break points; preseason is the time to kill those bad habits.
It’s kinda fascinating to see how a coach tries to break years of "losing culture" habits in just a few weeks. It’s a slow process. It’s messy. Sometimes it looks like they’re taking two steps back just to take one step forward.
Why We Care About Shooting Percentages (Even When They Don’t Count)
We shouldn't overreact to a bad shooting night in a Detroit Pistons preseason game, right?
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Well, yes and no.
If Malik Beasley goes 1-for-8 from three, you don't panic. He’s a proven vet. But if the young core is consistently missing wide-open looks created by the new offensive system, that’s a red flag. The system can only do so much. At some point, the ball has to go in the hoop. The preseason provides a sample size that, while small, gives us a glimpse into off-season progress. Did Ausar Thompson's jumper get smoother? Is Ivey's handle tighter? These are the micro-developments that determine the ceiling of the team.
Managing the "Preseason Hero" Hype
Every year, someone becomes a preseason legend. They average 18 points on 60% shooting against third-stringers and everyone loses their minds. Don't fall for it.
The real value of a Detroit Pistons preseason game is seeing how the starting unit fares against other NBA starters. Usually, that only happens for the first 15 to 20 minutes of the game. That’s the "real" game. Everything after that is essentially a live-action tryout for the Motor City Cruise. It’s important for those individual players, but it doesn't tell us much about whether the Pistons can actually compete with the Celtics or the Bucks.
The complexity of an NBA season is grueling. Eighty-two games is a marathon. Preseason is just the warm-up stretch in the hallway before the race begins. But if you pull a muscle in the hallway, you’re in trouble before you even hit the starting line. Staying healthy is the invisible stat line that matters most.
What to Watch for Next
If you’re heading to Little Caesars Arena or tuning in on TV, stop watching the ball. Seriously. Watch the player in the opposite corner. See if they’re drifting into the right spots. Watch the backup point guard and see if he’s getting the team into their sets quickly or if they’re hunting for a shot with four seconds on the shot clock.
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The Detroit Pistons preseason game experience is about education. It’s about learning the new language of the team.
Identify the primary ball-handler when Cade sits. This has been a massive weak point for Detroit in recent years. If the offense falls off a cliff the moment the starters head to the bench, it’s going to be a long winter. Look for Marcus Sasser or any other guard to step up and provide some semblance of order.
Track the free throw attempts. A team that attacks the rim gets to the line. If the Pistons are settling for contested mid-range jumpers in the preseason, they aren't playing the "math game" correctly. You want to see aggression. You want to see them putting pressure on the officials and the opposing defense.
Analyze the defensive rebounding. Giving up second-chance points is the fastest way to lose a game you should have won. If the Pistons are boxed out by smaller teams in these exhibitions, it points to a fundamental lack of discipline that Bickerstaff will need to address immediately.
Preseason is a teaser trailer. It’s designed to get you excited, but it often leaves out the boring parts of the movie. For the Pistons, the "boring parts"—the defense, the rebounding, the spacing—are actually the most important bits. Pay attention to those, and you'll have a much better idea of what this team is actually capable of when the games finally start to count for real.
The next step is to compare these preseason performances against the first ten games of the regular season. Look for consistency in the rotations. If the lineups we see now are the ones we see in late October, it means the coaching staff found what they were looking for. If the lineups are wildly different, it means the experiment is still ongoing. Keep an eye on the injury report, as even minor tweaks in the preseason can lead to "load management" starts once the calendar flips. Watch the tape, ignore the final score, and focus on the floor spacing. That's how you evaluate a team on the rise.