{"id":166602,"date":"2025-11-25T19:35:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T00:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=166602"},"modified":"2025-11-25T19:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T00:35:28","slug":"disrespect-fuels-pistons-rise-as-they-keep-proving-critics-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/25\/disrespect-fuels-pistons-rise-as-they-keep-proving-critics-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Disrespect Fuels Pistons\u2019 Rise As They Keep Proving Critics Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite owning their best start since 2005\u201306<\/a> and sitting at a blistering 15\u20132, the Detroit Pistons<\/a> still can\u2019t shake the national disrespect surrounding their rise. Their latest win, a 122\u2013115 victory over the Pacers for their 13th straight, only adds fuel to the fire.<\/p>\n

Cade Cunningham<\/a> once again set the tone with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, while Jalen Duren<\/a> bullied Indiana\u2019s front line for 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Pistons’ depth continues to shine too \u2014 47 bench points, led by 15 points from Caris LeVert<\/a> and 12 points from Jaden Ivey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Pistons are healthy, balanced, and playing some of the most connected basketball in the league<\/a>. Yet somehow, the national conversation still frames this run as a fluke. Why? And what are people missing? Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n

Disrespect Fuels Pistons\u2019 Rise As They Keep Proving Critics Wrong<\/h2>\n

The Pistons Are Done Asking for Respect<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s be real: nothing about the Pistons\u2019 start should shock anyone. Last season, the Pistons went from a 28-game losing streak and a 14-win embarrassment to tripling their win total and crashing the playoff picture. That rise \u2014 fueled by a fearless young core that pushed the Knicks to six games \u2014 was the league\u2019s best storyline.<\/p>\n

But that was last year\u2019s narrative. This year\u2019s team isn\u2019t an underdog. They\u2019re not a feel-good surprise. They\u2019re a group with a defined culture, an identity rooted in toughness, and young players who tasted success and spent the summer grinding for more.<\/p>\n

So no, this 15\u20132 start isn\u2019t some magical, unexpected run. This team is taking the next step toward elite status<\/a>, and the league needs to treat them like it.<\/p>\n

Why the Pistons\u2019 Depth Disrespect Doesn’t Match Reality<\/h3>\n

Whenever national pundits talk about the Pistons, the conversation begins and ends with Cunningham \u2014 and while he deserves every bit of that spotlight, it also exposes how little attention the second unit gets. The most immense disrespect is that the Pistons lack real depth.<\/p>\n

The season has already proved otherwise. When the Pistons were missing seven rotational players, who kept the winning streak alive? The role players. The same group that critics dismiss as \u201cnot talented enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pistons have one of the deepest rosters in the league,<\/a> and that depth is precisely why they can maintain pressure, survive injuries, and outlast teams for 48 minutes. It\u2019s time the national media stopped pretending this bench isn\u2019t legit. Whether it be a two-way guy like Daniss Jenkins<\/a> or guys like Javonte Green<\/a> and Paul Reed<\/a>, put some respect on their name.<\/p>\n

The Pistons Are Winning. The Respect Still Isn\u2019t.<\/h3>\n
\"Detroit
Oct 24, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles the ball as Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the latest NBA power rankings<\/a>, the two-loss Pistons sit at fourth. Meanwhile, the four-loss Nuggets and Rockets \u2014 including a Houston team the Pistons already beat \u2014 are somehow slotted ahead of them. If that isn\u2019t disrespect, what is?<\/p>\n

Critics fall back on the schedule, as if a team winning the games in front of them suddenly doesn\u2019t count. And you already know how this plays out: if the Pistons had dropped those same matchups, the narrative would flip to \u201cSee, last year was a fluke.\u201d It\u2019s a no-win standard designed to minimize what this team is accomplishing.<\/p>\n

But the truth is simple. You play who\u2019s on your schedule, and the Pistons are handling business. That should matter \u2014 and it\u2019s time people acknowledged it.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

What the Detroit Pistons are doing isn\u2019t a fluke, luck, or some feel-good surprise. It\u2019s the natural evolution of a young, hungry roster that finally knows exactly who it is. This team has survived injuries, silenced arenas, and turned last year\u2019s breakthrough into this year\u2019s standard. They\u2019re not chasing validation \u2014 they\u2019re stacking wins, building habits, and proving every night that the culture they built is authentic.<\/p>\n

The rest of the league can keep searching for excuses. The Pistons don\u2019t need their approval. They aren\u2019t trying to be the best story in basketball anymore; they\u2019re trying to be the best team in basketball. And at 15\u20132, if people still want to disrespect them, that\u2019s on them \u2014 not the Pistons.<\/p>\n

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

Despite owning their best start since 2005\u201306 and sitting at a blistering 15\u20132, the Detroit Pistons still can\u2019t shake the national disrespect surrounding their rise. Their latest win, a 122\u2013115 victory over the Pacers for their 13th straight, only adds fuel to the fire. Cade Cunningham once again set the tone with 24 points, 11 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5168,"featured_media":166722,"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],"class_list":["post-166602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-pistons","category-nba","tag-cade-cunningham"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166602","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=166602"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":167937,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166602\/revisions\/167937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}