Category: Detroit Pistons Blog

The Pistons have been one of the league’s early-season surprise success stories. They’re playing very solid basketball and have been a team to watch in the East. Here’s Michigan Live reporting on changes their offense has undergone:

Throughout his extensive head coaching career that includes more than 800 NBA games, Stan Van Gundy was obsessed with the pick-and-roll offense. He estimates he’s utilized it 90 percent of the time.

Getting out of his comfort zone wasn’t easy. But changes were needed following the Detroit Pistons’ disappointing 2016-17 season.

So, Van Gundy switched to a motion offense, where center Andre Drummond is the hub, and everyone is involved. The early results have been promising. The Pistons are 7-3 heading into Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).

“I think it is the best way for us to play and it’s just going to take time to get better at it and being committed to it,” Van Gundy said. “I think everybody likes the fact that everybody is involved. There’s nobody standing around. I think we got unselfish people. I think our guys are not guys who need shots, but I think it’s natural that everybody wants to feel like they’re involved in the game and their hands get on the ball.

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The Pistons are off to a great start. Will it last? Too soon to tell. Their offense has been pretty good; their defense average. At the very least, Detroit looks like they should compete to make the playoffs. That’s a huge step in the right direction. They’re a team to watch these next few weeks as we determine just how real they are. For more, here’s Michigan Live reporting:

Playing on back-to-back nights against a reeling team on Saturday, the Detroit Pistons made too many mistakes defensively, went cold from the floor in the first half and let the Sacramento Kings hang around too long.

It was a game last season’s Pistons might have lost.

But this year’s Pistons have a kind of swagger about them, a renewed confidence and much resolve. It wasn’t their best game, but they did what they were supposed to do, grinding out a 108-99 victory at Little Caesars Arena.

At 7-3, this is the Pistons’ best 10-game start since 2008-09. They are 3-0 on the second night of back-to-backs (they were 3-14 last season) and have won the first two games of a five-game homestand.

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The Detroit Pistons capped Week 2 with a comeback victory at Golden State on Sunday, extending their winning streak to three games. One day earlier, Detroit handed the LA Clippers their first loss of the season. The Pistons have shown impressive versatility during their Eastern Conference-best 5-2 start. Tobias Harris already has two 30-point games this season after not recording any last season. Reggie Jackson is healthy again and playing with confidence; his new backcourt mate, Avery Bradley, has provided defense and three-point shooting after arriving in an offseason trade from the Boston Celtics. And Andre Drummond remains a force in the paint. Detroit completes its three-game road trip against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

— NBA Broadcasters Bulletin

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The Timberwolves were without Jimmy Butler, but still, nice win by the Pistons. Here’s the Detroit News reporting:

After another slow start, the Pistons got it together quickly.

And did they ever get it together.

After falling into another hole in the first quarter, the Pistons responded with their best quarter of the season — a 40-point second-quarter outburst — and cruised in the second half.

That was more than enough to fuel a 122-101 blowout victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena.

Tobias Harris had 34 points, Avery Bradley added 20 points and Andre Drummond 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons (3-2), who embark on a three-game west-coast trip this weekend.

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Here’s the Detroit News reporting that fans can now buy single-game tickets for the upcoming Pistons season. The team’s home arena is now in downtown Detroit.

The opening of Little Caesars Arena is ushering in a new era.

As Pistons fans are itching to get their first glimpses of the new downtown digs, they’ll get their chance when individual-game tickets go on sale Saturday morning at 10.

Tickets start at $14 for select games in the upper bowl and initial indications are that there will be a few hundred tickets in that price range.

The Pistons open the season October 18 against the Charlotte Hornets and the premiere will feature a giveaway with a commemorative LED bracelet to create crowd-sourced pictures through the lights they emit.