It shouldn’t really be a surprise that the Detroit Pistons, now 8-3 and No. 2 in the East behind the streaking Celtics, are good. Detroit famously went 17-11 after the all-star break in 2015-16 before disappointing greatly last season. Was the hot run the aberration, or was an injury-riddled, agita-filled 2016-17 the error? Right now, it looks like it was the latter.
The Pistons figured it out
We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Detroit has a top-10 offense and defense, per NBA.com. The Pistons have played an average schedule — Boston, for what it’s worth, has played more cupcakes than Detroit — and Detroit, while not riding a 10-game win streak, has some signature victories in the bag (at Clippers, at Warriors, vs. Wolves).
They are going to stick around. Even if Andre Drummond is back to shooting 0-7 from the stripe. (How can someone go 14-16 and 0-7 from the line in the same week?! The human mind is a marvel.)
Scores Galore ...
IND 97, DET 114
NYK 99, ORL 112
LAL 96, BOS 107
MIA 126, PHX 115
MIN 101, GSW 125
... And So Much More
Seth Rosenthal’s most important piece ever: basketball players, please cut your nails.
Tim Cato makes a great point: Jimmy Butler’s value is in his ability to be a star who blends in.
I present seven winners and six losers from the Eric Bledsoe trade. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how it works out in practice.
A timeline of the Bobby Portis-Nikola Mirotic beef, which remains unresolved as Portis plays and Mirotic continues to recover.
Presenting the Hawkins Basketball League. Do not click if you are not through Stranger Things 2. James Dator and Mark Hinog are crazy for this one.
Kyrie Irving hasn’t been crazy efficient or potent as a Celtic to date, but his handles have been extraordinary.
SB Nation’s preseason top 25 in college basketball. A little birdie who is definitely not an assistant coach with a fat envelope told me the big college basketball preview is landing on Thursday ...
Four reasons the Knicks are fun again, starring Kristaps Porzingis and also Kristaps Porzingis.
Sheesh, Hassan Whiteside, why do you have to make the kid feel bad, you already blocked him!
Marc Spears talked to NBA team executives to come up with a list of 12 college players they’ll be watching intently.
An interesting look at Kyrie’s performance in pick-and-roll defense. Boston is currently No. 1 in defense despite playing some young talent and losing Jae Crowder.
I agree with this: James Harden is the frontrunner for NBA MVP right now.
Here’s Giannis being serenaded by Greek fans after a game in Cleveland. I will walk into the sea if Giannis ever goes Milkshake Duck.
State high school athletic commissions are having difficulty sorting out rules for transgender athletes.
Up next: we have a couple of bangers on TNT Thursday. First up is Cavaliers-Rockets at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Thunder-Nuggets at 10:30 p.m. Let the Nikola Jokic Appreciation Day commence! Full schedule (which includes Pelicans-Raptors, which ... swoon) here.
Be excellent to each other.
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