The Pistons’ season opener brings an immediate stress test, and it comes in the form of Jayson Tatum.
Detroit opens against Boston with Tatum healthy, in command, and back to being the Celtics’ clear centerpiece. That alone makes him a brutal assignment, but the matchup gets even tougher because the Pistons are still sorting out their situation at power forward - a spot that remains one of their biggest defensive concerns. Unless John Collins can rise to the occasion, Detroit does not look like it has a clean answer built into its starting five.
Tatum’s profile is exactly the kind of problem that can expose that weakness. After missing most of last season while recovering from an Achilles injury, he returns as Boston’s top guy after the Celtics moved Jaylen Brown this offseason to create future financial flexibility.
There were obvious reasons Boston made that call, too. Tatum has been a regular First Team All-NBA selection in his healthy years, and two seasons ago he produced roughly 27 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists per game.
At 6-foot-9 and 229 pounds, he brings a kind of size that smaller wings simply can’t match.
That matters here because Detroit may not want Ausar Thompson on him for long stretches. Tatum’s size and skill set make him a matchup nightmare, and the Pistons have already seen how dangerous he can be.
Since the start of the 2024-25 season, he’s only faced Detroit twice, but he averaged 32 points in those games. That’s the exact kind of start the Pistons cannot afford to hand him again, especially with Tatum now functioning as the offense’s main engine.
Collins is the most natural first try. He has the body type to line up with Tatum, and Detroit would likely prefer to use him there rather than asking him to chase around perimeter action against smaller, more mobile shooters. If that doesn’t work, though, the Pistons have other options.
Thompson can be bumped up as an emergency answer, and he has handled Tatum well in isolated moments before. With Detroit now committing to him on a massive extension, it would not be surprising if his defensive workload expands even further.
And if Thompson needs to be reserved for other matchups, the Pistons can also turn to Ron Holland II or Javonte Green. Both are wing defenders who can scale up against Tatum, even if they are giving up size.
Their physical style gives Detroit at least a fighting chance.
For a team trying to figure out its new shape, the opener could hardly serve up a tougher first assignment. Tatum is the kind of player who forces both individual defenders and the coaching staff to think on their feet from the opening tip.
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Pistons Opener Hinted At A Change Fans Have Wanted For Years
The Pistons entered the 2026 offseason determined to modernize an offense that too often settled for too few threes, and their regular-season opener against the Celtics offered the clearest sign yet that the message may have landed. Detroit launched 40 three-pointers in a 121-113 win, a sharp jump from last seasons 30.8 per game, and the shot profile alone looked different enough to catch the eye even before the comeback from a 22-point hole.
Duncan Robinson, Javonte Green, Isaiah Joe and Kevin Huerter all factored into the spread-the-floor approach, giving Detroit the kind of perimeter volume fans have wanted to see for years. One game does not make a season, of course, but after spending the offseason talking about the need to improve from deep, the Pistons at least gave themselves a template worth watching closely as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
John Collins Already Has The Pistons Facing A Tough Defensive Question
John Collins first night in a Pistons uniform offered an early glimpse of both the upside and the problems Detroit will have to sort through. He gave the team some useful minutes with a block and a few offensive rebounds, the kind of activity that can matter in a game where every possession counts. But the bigger takeaway came on the other end, where Collins had a rough time holding up defensively in his new setting.
Detroit tried to work around it by shifting Collins to center, hoping the matchup would settle in, but the adjustment did not really solve the issue. Paul George found room to score against him, and the problem only looked more complicated when bigger opponents came into play, including Mitchell Robinson. For a Pistons group trying to piece together lineups early, Collins fit may end up being defined less by what he can add and more by how they hide what he gives up. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Just Turned Bostons Big Debut Into A Celtics Problem
Bostons season opener quickly turned into a reminder that early NBA games can still say plenty about where a team is headed. The Celtics built a 22-point lead against Detroit, only to let it slip away in a loss that had Jayson Tatum finishing with 13 points on rough shooting while Paul George carried the offensive load with 38 points and also made his presence felt on the defensive end.
Social media did what it always does after a collapse like that, with fans split between frustration at the coaching and player execution and calls to remember how long the season is. From Detroits perspective, it was the kind of result that can travel well beyond one night, because handing Boston an opener like that immediately changes the tone around the Celtics and gives the Pistons an early jolt of attention. [Read more 🡒]