NBA power rankings keep Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons among elite teams

The Detroit Pistons remain the number one team on the Eastern Conference with a 22-6 record through 28 games.

While the Pistons are first in the East, they aren't first in NBA.com writer John Schuhmann's power rankings. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and New York Knicks stack ahead of them, putting the Pistons at No. 4, which is the same spot they were in a week ago.

"The Pistons suffered their first loss against the Western Conference on Thursday, coming up short in Dallas in overtime after erasing an 18-point deficit. But they remain at the top of the East, having picked up a big win (with another comeback from double-digits) in Boston earlier in the week," Schuhmann wrote.

"The Pistons will spend Christmas out West, with their longest road trip of the season (five games over nine days) beginning Monday in Portland."

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham dribbles in the first half against the Charlotte Hornets. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Pistons still top five in power rankings

A big reason why the Pistons are playing as well as they are is because they know how to keep their composure when they begin to trail. The Pistons are part of an elite group that suggests they could be heading to the NBA Finals this season.

"In the previous 29 seasons of play-by-play data, there have been 12 teams with winning regular-season records in games they trailed by double-digits, and eight of those 12 (including last season’s Thunder) have gone on to win the championship, while two of the other four lost in the Finals," Schuhmann wrote.

"The two teams with winning records after trailing by at least 10 points this season are the Thunder (6-0) and the Pistons (8-4), with the comeback in Boston giving Detroit as many wins after trailing by double-digits as it had all of last season (8-33)."

The Pistons nearly added to their total with a win against the Mavericks, but they lost it overtime. If the Pistons continue to play with that attack mindset they've adopted, they should be in every game they play this season and should come out on top in almost all of them.

The Pistons will be on the West Coast this week with games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings for a back-to-back. After Christmas, the team will head to Salt Lake City to face off against the Utah Jazz before heading over to Tinseltown for a game against Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers.