Don't Look Now, But The Pistons Are Playing Solid Basketball

Detroit is on a three-game winning streak for the first time this season and appears to be getting better and better with each outing.

Okay, okay, the Pistons are still a whopping 29 games below .500 at 18-47, but they've now won six of their last eight games, including yesterday's 113-110 win against Atlanta, and are clearly playing better basketball compared to earlier in the season.

Part of that is being healthy, part of that is a young leader like Cade Cunningham playing up to his immense potential and part of it is guys like Isaiah Stewart truly embracing and settling into their roles. Throw in trading for Marvin Bagley III, which looks like a great move already as he chipped in 19 big points last night in Stewart's absence, and you're seeing the fruits of all of it.

Even though the record is still bad, and this year is effectively a lost cause, you can see the young core bonding and learning together. Saddiq Bey has become a do-it-all marksmen and even a guy like Killian Hayes is showing more flashes of what made him a top-ten draft pick just a season ago. Jerami Grant probably isn't quite a top-tier option in the NBA, but he's putting up big numbers for Detroit pretty routinely. Bench guys like Hamidou Diallo and Kelly Olynyk are doing what they do on a nightly basis and even a late-round pick like Isaiah Livers is starting to show that he has some staying power in the association. His three, three-pointers against Atlanta yesterday and late-game run indicates that he's a keeper. 

Pistons head coach Dwane Casey has been using the word "connectivity" a lot when referencing his young and growing team on both ends of the floor. He has seen the growth and has no problem saying that they would've lost games earlier this year that they're winning now. He's also very quick to say that they're nowhere near a finished product but he can see the growth. I think all of those things are appropriate and acceptable to say at this stage of the rebuild. 

The Pistons will be back in action tomorrow night in Detroit against the Chicago Bulls who are currently 4th in the Eastern Conference at 39-26. They're a formidable opponent, so getting to four in a row will be tough for Detroit, but the Pistons are rolling a bit right now and should be confident in the matchup.