3 Things Detroit Pistons Must Learn From New York’s Championship Run This Season

The exact same team that just toppled the San Antonio Spurs and the mighty Victor Wembanyama in just five NBA Finals games lost to the Detroit Pistons in all three meetings this regular season.

The postseason is a completely different universe. The Knicks notched the No. 3 seed and blazed their way to a dominant playoff run. The Pistons snagged the No. 1 seed from the rest of the Eastern conference but struggled mightily when the postseason began.

Detroit's collapse was less shocking, and more revealing. Detroit's seven game series losses to the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers were surprising, but not shocking. The losses held up a mirror to the Pistons, reflecting all the flaws Detroit had all season. The Pistons have an opportunity to fix those flaws this summer before the new season begins this fall.

Jalen Duren and Jarrett Alle — May 17, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) and Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) fight for a rebound in the first half during game seven of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Even the most homegrown teams make crucial trades

The New York Knicks are a veteran-led team built on risky, but necessary acquisitions via trade. O.G. Anunoby, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Mikal Bridges were all traded for by Knicks President Leon Rose. Jalen Brunson was signed to the Knicks in free agency after the Dallas Mavericks weren't willing to sign him back. Drafting homegrown talent and developing them into stars is extremely important to the long-term future of a team. However, winning an NBA championship requires more urgency than that.

Even the Oklahoma City Thunder understand how important it is to seek good fits from outside your building to improve. While hoarding draft picks for the future, they also acquired center Isaiah Hartenstein from the Knicks themselves two seasons ago. Before the trade deadline came to a close this February, the Thunder traded for guard Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers. McCain ended up serving an important role in their run to the Western Conference Finals this season.

The Pistons have to swing for the fences this summer. Between their youthful cast of depth and their collection of first round draft picks, they have an opportunity to bring in a high-impact player who can contribute to the team immediately.

Shooting and spacing is a top priority for any NBA team in 2026

The Pistons being able to dominate basketball games as well as they did without sacrificing much of the identity they sought to create for themselves was miraculous. The Pistons led the NBA this season in points in the paint, fouls, and finished third in free throw attempts per game. This team was physical and they were unapologetic about it all season.

The Pistons need to change with the rest of basketball. Against fast, savvy, and more versatile teams, beating them up for 48 minutes isn't going to win a championship the way it did for the Bad Boys Pistons of the late 1990s.

Developing a more fixed transition offense after rebounds, securing more experienced perimeter shooters and secondary ball-handlers, and finding more creative ways to incorporate Jalen Duren into the offense without taking anything away from anyone else will be important tasks for Pistons brass this summer.

Depth is not a luxury, it's a necessity

The days of giving the keys to two of your star players and letting the rest fall into place are no longer. Big threes are not only being phased out managerially, but they're also being phased out on the basketball court. Any team that relies too heavily on one to two players or a single kind of way to score will be taken advantage of.

Championship teams need to be ten to 12 players deep, unlike in the past where teams could get away with playing an eight-man rotation deep into the conference championships and NBA Finals. Offenses have exploded and teams are constructed in such a way that leaves little room for error. The Pistons need to have offensive Swiss army knives on their bench ready to be deployed whenever needed, similar to McCain for the Thunder this postseason. The Pistons were missing that spark.

Players like Marcus Sasser and Kevin Huerter didn't get much of a chance to prove they can catch fire in the playoffs. The Pistons need their own Miles McBride or their own Jose Alvarado. Javonte Green, Ron Holland, Jalen Duren, and Isaiah Stewart never run from physicality or the grind of winning, but as of right now, they're all one-dimensional players who making Cunningham's life much harder when contending teams gameplan for him more in the playoffs.

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