{"id":164589,"date":"2025-10-31T19:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T23:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=164589"},"modified":"2025-10-31T17:39:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T21:39:26","slug":"five-games-in-the-pistons-are-finding-their-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/31\/five-games-in-the-pistons-are-finding-their-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Games In, the Pistons Are Finding Their Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five games into the Detroit Pistons\u2019<\/a> 2025-26 season, the team still looks like one in transition. After a 135-116 victory over the Orlando Magic, they\u2019ll now head to Mexico City to face the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n

Defensively, the Pistons have built on last year\u2019s progress, ranking 9th<\/a> in opponents\u2019 points per game and 10th<\/a> in defensive rating. Offensively, however, they remain a work in progress, sitting 20th<\/a> in scoring and 19th<\/a> in rating.<\/p>\n

Despite those early inconsistencies, the Pistons\u2019 play at times suggests that last season\u2019s resurgence was no fluke \u2014 and the offseason improvements are beginning to show on the court. So, what are the early positives and negatives? Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n

Five Games In, the Pistons Are Finding Their Balance<\/h2>\n

Pistons\u2019 Playmaker Under Defensive Pressure<\/h3>\n

When teams prepare for the Pistons, the game plan always starts with Cade Cunningham<\/a>. Opponents have adjusted their entire defensive approach to slow down the All-Star<\/a>, and that attention has led to stretches of inconsistency in his offense.<\/p>\n

Even so, Cunningham is averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. His shooting remains a work in progress \u2014 40 percent from the field, 24 percent from three, and 81 percent from the free-throw line \u2014 and he\u2019s turning the ball over 4.4 times<\/a> per contest.<\/p>\n

If Wednesday night\u2019s performance<\/a> is any indication, though, those shooting numbers should rise as the season progresses while the turnovers decline. Cunningham\u2019s start leaves room for improvement, but there\u2019s no reason for concern just yet.<\/p>\n

Bruising and Efficient<\/h3>\n

Jalen Duren<\/a> has all the physical tools to become one of the league\u2019s best centers. His ability to finish in the paint, rebound, and use his athleticism makes him one of the Pistons\u2019 most intriguing players \u2014 and he\u2019s still only 21.<\/p>\n

This season, Duren has turned into a reliable option at the free-throw line, making his bruising style even more effective. He\u2019s shooting 84 percent from the stripe after hitting just 67 percent last year. He\u2019s already had two games with 10 or more free-throw attempts, showing that sending him to the line is no longer a strategy opponents can count on.<\/p>\n

Give It Time<\/h3>\n

Throughout the offseason, much of the discussion<\/a> centered on Duncan Robinson<\/a> and Caris LeVert<\/a>. Many questioned whether they could replace the production of last season\u2019s veterans. So far, both players have shown flashes but still have room to grow.<\/p>\n

Robinson has been up and down from three-point range early on, but he competes hard on both ends every night. As the season progresses and he returns to his bench role once Jaden Ivey<\/a> is back, his shooting efficiency should trend upward.<\/p>\n

LeVert, meanwhile, is still finding his rhythm after missing three games due to injury. The skill set is there for him to become a key contributor, but his next step will be proving he can stay on the floor consistently.<\/p>\n

Bench Boost: Pistons\u2019 Energy in Action<\/h3>\n

Off the bench, Isaiah Stewart<\/a> and Ron Holland<\/a> have injected the effort and intensity the Pistons often need. Both players impact the game on both ends, continuing the consistency they showed last season.<\/p>\n

Stewart has once again proven to be one of the team\u2019s most dependable contributors. He brings physicality, protects the rim at a high level with 2.0 blocks per game, and has added range \u2014 hitting 58.3 percent of his threes. Whatever the role, Stewart delivers.<\/p>\n

Holland is constantly around the basketball, making plays through hustle and instincts. Over the summer, he focused on improving his perimeter game to complement his transition and driving ability. While the three-point shot remains a work in progress, he\u2019s keeping defenses honest by attempting 4.2 threes per game.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

Through five games, the Detroit Pistons are showing flashes of what they can become. The defense is ahead of schedule, the energy is consistent, and the roster is beginning to take shape under J.B. Bickerstaff\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

There are still issues to clean up \u2014 turnovers, offensive spacing, and stretches of inconsistency \u2014 but the foundation is visible. Cade Cunningham continues to lead, Jalen Duren is evolving into a dependable interior presence, and the supporting cast is learning how to complement them.<\/p>\n

The Pistons aren\u2019t a finished product yet, but that\u2019s the point. Growth is happening in real-time, and the early signs suggest that this team is moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five games into the Detroit Pistons\u2019 2025-26 season, the team still looks like one in transition. After a 135-116 victory over the Orlando Magic, they\u2019ll now head to Mexico City to face the Dallas Mavericks. Defensively, the Pistons have built on last year\u2019s progress, ranking 9th in opponents\u2019 points per game and 10th in defensive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5168,"featured_media":165181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,10,62],"tags":[3965,1070,2803,2380,4432,49302],"class_list":["post-164589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-pistons","category-nba","tag-cade-cunningham","tag-caris-levert","tag-duncan-robinson","tag-isaiah-stewart","tag-jalen-duren","tag-ron-holland-ii"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164589"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165182,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164589\/revisions\/165182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}