Detroit Pistons’ Defense Is Championship-Caliber - Now the Offense Just Needs to Catch Up
Two years ago, the Detroit Pistons were stuck at the bottom of the NBA standings. Fast forward to today, and they’re not just competitive - they’re contending.
It’s a stunning turnaround, the kind of leap that makes you double-check the standings just to be sure. But make no mistake: Detroit’s rise isn’t smoke and mirrors.
It’s built on the kind of defense that wins championships.
Right now, the Pistons own the second-best defensive rating in the league, trailing only the Thunder. And since the calendar flipped to January, no one’s been better on that end of the floor.
This isn’t about one or two elite stoppers carrying the load - it’s the full team buying in, rotating hard, closing out with urgency, and playing with a collective edge that’s hard to teach. Every possession feels like a fight, and Detroit’s not backing down from anyone.
But can the offense keep up? That’s the million-dollar question.
Despite the skepticism in some corners of the fanbase, the Pistons’ offense isn’t nearly as stagnant as it’s sometimes made out to be. They currently sit 10th in offensive rating, and they’re within a single point of cracking the top five.
That’s not just respectable - that’s contender territory. Still, it doesn’t feel like this group has hit its stride offensively.
The numbers are solid, but the eye test suggests there’s another gear to find.
Detroit’s offensive identity is a bit of a throwback. They’re not leaning on a barrage of threes or heliocentric isolation ball.
Instead, they’re grinding teams down with physicality, dominating the paint, and letting their defense fuel their scoring. It’s not flashy, but it’s effective - and it leaves room for growth.
So where does that next step come from?
One name to watch: Ausar Thompson. The rookie wing has been quietly developing his mid-range game, and that’s no small thing.
When Cade Cunningham gets blitzed or trapped, Thompson is often the release valve flashing to the middle of the floor. If he can consistently knock down those shots, it changes the geometry of the Pistons’ offense.
That mid-range space is there - and Thompson’s starting to take it.
Then there’s Ron Holland II. The rookie’s shooting just 22 percent from beyond the arc, but the potential is obvious.
He’s a high-energy player who doesn’t shy away from the moment, and if his outside shot starts to fall, even marginally, it could open up all kinds of possibilities. Defenses can afford to sag off him right now - but if that changes, so does the way teams have to guard Detroit as a whole.
And don’t overlook Kevin Huerter. He’s still finding his role after joining the team midseason, but there are flashes of what he brings to the table.
He’s moving well off the ball, acting as a connector in the halfcourt, and quietly shooting over 63 percent on two-point attempts. The three-point shot hasn’t clicked yet, but his track record suggests it’s only a matter of time.
If he gets back to his career norms from deep, he becomes a real X-factor - the kind of floor-spacer who can tilt a playoff series.
The blueprint is already in place. The Pistons don’t need a total offensive overhaul - they just need a little more juice.
If they can squeeze a bit more efficiency out of the pieces they already have - a few more made threes here, a little more mid-range consistency there - they’re suddenly looking at a top-five offense to go with their elite defense. And that’s when things get scary for the rest of the league.
No team in NBA history has gone from worst to champion in just two seasons. But history doesn’t win games.
Defense, chemistry, and timely shot-making do. The Pistons have the first two.
If the offense catches up - even just a little - they might just have enough to make a deep playoff run. Maybe even more than that.