The Pistons' improvement occurred so quickly that it’s difficult to discern the meaning moving forward.
It was a big step, but not to the point that it could reasonably be suggested the Pistons will be genuine contenders for the NBA Finals next season. But they could be closer than it appeared.
It didn’t seem possible the Pacers would rout the Cavaliers and the Knicks doom the Celtics in the playoffs. The Pistons are comparable to the Knicks and Pacers.
Detroit’s first-round series with the Knicks could have gone either way. There was an egregiously missed call that cost the Pistons one of the games, and there were other points where they were right there and just couldn’t put the Knicks away. Regardless, the six-game series was a thriller.
The Pistons were several games behind the Knicks most of the regular season, but won three of the four meetings. They won at nearly the same rate as the Pacers for most of the campaign before floundering a bit at the end. The Pacers were 8-2 in their last 10 games, the Pistons 4-6. Detroit won 44 games, Indiana 50, the Knicks 51.
The Cavs folded like a house of cards in the playoffs. They couldn’t hold early leads. They couldn’t win at home. The Pacers were more of a team than the Cavs’ collection of stars in Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
The Pacers and the Pistons are similar in that way. Both teams have an exceptional star, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Detroit's Cade Cunningham, but the success of each squad is based more on how the pieces fit together.
The Knicks are decidedly tough. Jalen Brunson had been underrated -- not anymore. The Cavs and Celtics each won more than 60 games, and Mitchell, who has never been to a conference finals, was openly crushed by the loss to to Indiana, which could make him particularly determined next season.
The Celtics’ biggest star, Jayson Tatum, ruptured his Achilles tendon and will miss at least the first half of next season. Boston appeared to be lost against New York. Sure, it’s a three-point shooting league, but they were jacking up, and missing, three-pointers at a ridiculous rate.
The Pistons were without Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey against the Knicks. It can reasonably be anticipated that Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren and Ron Holland will all be improved next season, and the Pistons have plenty of cap space ($30.5 million, third-most in the NBA) to work with this summer.
It adds up to the Pistons possibly being better sooner than we could have imagined before the start of this NBA postseason.