Momentum continues to build for the Detroit Pistons, as they remain undefeated in the 2024 NBA Cup. The Pistons blew out the Indiana Pacers 130-106 on the road on Friday night, which improved their NBA Cup East Group B record to 3-0. Their victory also propelled their regular season record forward to 9-12.
Shooting guard Jaden Ivey was a standout performer with 23 points, six assists, and five rebounds. This is one of the first experiences for this young franchise in playing meaningful games with playoff-esque implications. In a postgame media session with NBA TV, Ivey addressed the team’s mindset for each tournament game.
“I think we’ve really approached this as a playoff series. The NBA doing the NBA Cup is amazing. To be able to get a chance to kind of feel that playoff atmosphere early in the season I think will be really good for us,” Ivey stated after Detroit’s win over Indiana. “Obviously, we still have to win a couple games before we get to Vegas, but the goal is to get there.”
Friday night’s win tied the Pistons with the Milwaukee Bucks in first place of Group B. The tie in the standings will be decided on Tuesday when the Bucks will travel to Little Caesars Arena to face off with the Pistons.
Cade Cunningham, Tobias Harris return from injury
Detroit got a much needed boost in the starting lineup with returns from point guard Cade Cunningham (back) and forward Tobias Harris (hip). Cunningham played a complete game scoring 24 points, dishing 11 assists, and grabbing six rebounds. Harris had an effective scoring night chipping in 16 points on 5-8 shooting from the field and 2-5 from three.
The Pistons have played without Cunningham over the last three games courtesy of a back injury. Detroit’s offense struggled heavily on offense without Cunningham or Harris in the lineup for their 131-111 blowout loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Detroit’s offense saw a helpful improvement with Cunningham and Harris back in the rotation, which was nice to see. Guard Malik Beasley returned to his reserve role off the bench and led the Pistons in scoring with 25 points. Center Jalen Duren made an impact with a double-double scoring 14 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and blocking four shots.
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Progress for Ausar Thompson
The Pistons’ victory against the Pacers marked second-year forward Ausar Thompson’s third game of the season, as he played roughly 11 minutes off the bench, with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff continuing to work him back into Detroit’s rotation. Bickerstaff has expressed a desire to ease Thompson back into action after he missed several months of action due to blood clots.
“We’re going to be extremely cautious. There’s no reason for us to push it or rush it. Even when he started, you saw that his first stint was a very short stint,” Bickerstaff explained in the pregame media session. “What we don’t want is we don’t want him trying to save it and now he’s not getting what he needs.”
Thompson has shown flashes of progression in many areas for the Pistons, and they have continued to lean on him as a primary defender when he is on the floor. His playmaking continues to impress in certain spots such as transition and half-court sets. Thompson even showed potential in his improving jump shot by knocking down a triple from the corner in the third quarter of this one.
