By beating Miami, Toronto and Indiana, the Pistons remain perfect in this NBA Cup. Even better: with this 3-0, they are tied with the Bucks in group B and next Tuesday, the two teams will meet for a place in the quarter-finals.
Unthinkable for a team which only won 14 matches last season, stuck in very, very bad seasons for several years. But they want to change in 2024/25 and this mid-season tournament is a golden opportunity to get back on track. Indiana showed it well in December 2023, by going to the final, then in the spring, with a conference final.
“The sense of urgency is very important, that’s clear. We need every match. Remember Indiana last year, which took the tournament seriously? reminds Cade Cunningham, who also remembered the defeat against the Pacers in this same tournament in November 2023. “We want to go to Las Vegas, we want to have that experience, that of winning something. We want it. »
Finally a game at stake for Detroit
It should be remembered that, over the past fifteen years, the Pistons have made the playoffs only three times and without ever winning a game. The last success was Game 4 in the conference final against Boston, on May 26, 2008… This match will therefore have a particular flavor for a franchise which is no longer used to breathing that air.
“It was important to us and the guys approached it that way”rejoices JB Bickerstaff. “They want to win. There's a sense of urgency and it gives our players a chance to play high-stakes matches and see how they react to that. They responded positively. »
We'll have to do it again Tuesday night against Milwaukee in the Pistons' most important game in years. But already, with the scent of this NBA Cup, they are progressing with 9 successes on the clock before the month of December even begins. Last season, to painfully reach this total of 9 victories, we had to wait until February 27…
