Ranking Detroit Pistons Three Toughest Eastern Conference Foes This Season

There's never a good time to get complacent, but we're at the point in the season where mistakes need to be an all-time minimum and mindsets need to be as sharp as possible.

The playoffs properly started the moment All-Star weekend ended. The games begin to matter more and more as the regular season comes to an end. This remains true even for the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons currently sit at the very top of the Eastern conference with a 43-14 win-loss record. They also lead the NBA in win percentage. The Oklahoma City Thunder hold a record of 45-15.

The Pistons are the most dominant team in the Eastern conference, but this doesn't mean reaching the NBA Finals is going to be easy.

It won't be. If the regular season ended today, the Pistons would play the winner of the play-in finals. There are some familiar contenders and new surprises within the top-six of the Eastern conference that plan on giving the youthful Detroit Pistons a run for their money.

Cade Cunningham and Mikal Bridges of the New York Knick — Feb 19, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) is guarded by New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (37-23)

It would be so much fun to see the Cleveland Cavaliers win with James Harden on the team. The Cavs are a team and Harden is player with so much to prove to so many, even if they won't admit it. When it comes to playing well deep in the playoffs, there's concern to be had with the Cavaliers.

Harden and Mitchell will play 30 minutes or more in every game in the playoffs, just as they have in the regular season. That's a defensive liability in the backcourt.

Jaylon Tyson can only fight through so many screens before Mitchell and Harden are forced to guard some of the best players in the league. Reliable defensive guards like Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis can only play so many minutes with Harden and Mitchell before their size is taken advantage of. Harden fracturing his thumb and deciding to play through it until the end of the season doesn't help their playoff hopes either.

Teams that rely heavily on success in the paint will have a tough time against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, but that's relying on the right matchup just to have their potential maximized. They have the second-most talented starting lineup in the Eastern conference which lands them within the top three opponents, but a lot needs to go their way to reach the conference finals.

2. New York Knicks

The most talented starting lineup in the Eastern conference were ran out of Madison Square Garden in the Eastern conference finals by Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in six games. The New York Knicks have a new head coach and a better bench unit now. Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet, Jeremy Sochan, and Jose Alvarado are all new additions from this offseason. Their contributions will never be as valuable as they'll be in this postseason.

The Knicks are loaded with perimeter defenders which is such a luxury to have in the playoffs. If the Knicks don't appear in the Eastern conference finals and put up another good fight, it would be extremely deflating considering all the changes they made last offseason.

1. Boston Celtics (38-20)

The Boston Celtics are frightening.

They never seem to go away. Even when they trade most of their 2024 championship core to get under the luxury tax and their best player tears his Achilles tendon, they still find ways to stick around. Jayson Tatum has begun practicing in 5-versus-5 drills, which is the least important reason why this is scariest non-Detroit team in the East.

Derrick White and Jaylen Brown are two of the top-five to ten two-way players in the NBA and they're both in the same lineup.

Trading for Nikola Vucevic opens up another realm of the offense we haven't seen this season, but we have seen in 2024 with Porzingis. Vucevic is more versatile considering how comfortable he is with his back to the basket and out on the perimeter. They have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to efficient three-point shooting between players like Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, Anfernee Simons, and Payton Pritchard.

This organization has proven many times now that they know what it takes to stay successful long-term. It's going to take a legit juggernaut of a dynasty to extinguish what this Celtics team is capable of during the second half of Brown and Tatum's career and this upcoming postseason.