With eight wins in a row -- a year after 28 losses in a row -- the Pistons are becoming the talk of the NBA. They blew past the defending champion Celtics on Wednesday night, with the 2023 champion Nuggets coming to town Friday night.
At 33-26, they're sixth in the East and climbing. Stephen A. Smith left no doubt Thursday morning on ESPN's First Take when he declared, "J.B. Bickerstaff is the Coach of the Year."
"I can't believe, I am shellshocked at what I have seen from Detroit," he said. "I am so happy for Malik Beasley. Cade Cunningham, this brother's averaging over 25 a game, over nine assists a game. This brother is special. Former No. 1 overall pick, 11th in the NBA in scoring, third in assists."
Smith went on to point out that this week alone, the Pistons snapped a 12-game skid against the Celtics and a 10-game skid against the Clippers, "a year after they went 14-68 with a 28-game losing streak, OK?"
"And I want to say this name, because you don't hear this name, almost never. His name is Troy Weaver," said Smith. "He was running things in Detroit before they let him go. He picked this squad. (Trajan) Langdon hired J.B. Bickerstaff, those players are Weaver. He gave them about $60 million of cap space, he picked these players. We don't mention him enough."
Of course, Langdon deserves a ton of credit for putting a competent cast of veterans around Cunningham and the Pistons' young core, something Weaver failed to do. Langdon's acquisitions of Beasley, who's second in the NBA in three-pointers, Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. have paid dividends.
When asked what Wednesday's result might mean for the the Celtics, Smith's co-host Brian Windhorst said, "This is all about a celebration of Detroit."
"One year ago today, they were 8-49. If you're a fan of the Suns, the 76ers, the Jazz, or whichever teams are struggling, and you want to believe that it's possible to turn a team around, look at this," he said.
"What's so impressive about this," Windhorst went on, is that "Langdon has been around the NBA for 25 years, he got this job to be the president of the team, he makes one of the most important hires he can possibly make and hired a guy he didn't have a relationship with (in Bickerstaff). Why? Because he believed he was the right man for the job. When they interviewed, they connected, they did it. That was a risk that has paid off perfectly."
If the playoffs started today, the Pistons would have a first-round matchup with the Knicks, a team they've already beaten twice this season at MSG. Asked how close the Pistons are to threatening the Knicks, Smith said, "Close enough. Close enough to make me uncomfortable, to make me entertain the possibility that the Knicks are gone in the first round."
