Talk about a surprise year, both the Detroit Pistons and Red Wings have chances to go to the playoffs even after both were expected not to. The last time both the Pistons and Red Wings made the playoffs was in 2016 when the Pistons got swept by the Cavaliers in the first round and the Red Wings lost their first-round playoff games to the Tampa Bay Lightning where they went on to lose the series 4-1. It wasn’t just the playoffs though, last year the Pistons finished their season 14-68, not only the worst record in the NBA, but one of the worst in NBA history. The Pistons haven’t won more than 25 games since the 2018-19 season (Including a shortened 2019-20 season due to COVID-19). Meanwhile, the Red Wings also have struggled in recent seasons. The team finished 17-49-5 back in their 2019-20 season which was the worst of any NHL team since 1986. The Wings haven’t finished in the top three of their division standings since the 2015-2016 season and are looking to change that this year.
One of the biggest surprises of the 2024-25 NBA season has been the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have been in a rebuilding phase since they were swept in the first round of the playoffs against the Bucks years ago. Now, the Pistons are back to being a playoff contender and have the pieces necessary to make a run.
Most of the Piston’s core has been built by draft picks and patience. Cade Cunningham, the first overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, has finally lived up to his potential. According to the Ringer which uses metrics and measures how good an NBA player is, Cunningham has soared to number 17. Cunningham has averaged 24.8 points per game (PPG), 9.4 assists per game, and 6.4 rebounds per game. One of the reasons Cunningham has been playing so well has been the added depth to the lineup. Tobias Harris who has been a reliable role player in his career and is playing in his fourteenth season has helped Cunningham open up the court. Tim Hardaway Jr. has also been a veteran for the team who is also 32 years old and has averaged 13.7 ppg in his career in 795 regular season NBA games.
It’s not just Cade Cunningham who has soared the Pistons to one of their best seasons in years, it is also thanks to other draft picks like Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey, and Marcus Sasser. Duren has had an incredible year averaging 10.2 rebounds per game and has jumped to the number 95 best player in the NBA according to the Ringer. Thompson has developed into a nice role player and Ivey and Sasser have both been speedy guards who are quick to the ball but can struggle with patience.
Currently, the Pistons are on track to win more games than their two previous seasons combined. Sitting towards the top of the Eastern Conference Standings the Pistons have a decent shot of making it further than people thought they could go. Being one of the youngest teams in the NBA it will be tough for the Pistons to get far, but they have been proving people wrong all year. The Pistons have no weaknesses, but they also have no strengths that stand out either. If Cade Cunningham can take one more step to being a franchise player, this could be a team that others won’t want to play now or especially in the future.
Meanwhile, playing the same home games as the Pistons, the Detroit Red Wings have also made some noise in their season. The Red Wings power play (5 on 4) this year is at 28.6% which is second in the NHL. Alex Debrincat and Dylan Larkin both have +25 goals this season and the Red Wings have been flirting with the playoffs ever since they fired their head coach Derek Lalonde. Under new interim head coach Todd McLellan, the Wings have gone 17-8-2 and have played some of their best hockey lately, including in January when they won seven games in a row.
Despite having one of the NHL’s best power plays, the Red Wings struggle with the league’s worst penalty kill at 69.9%. And with the Wings losing their last four games, their playoff odds have gone from the high 50% to 17.5% (according to MoneyPuck), and will likely continue to go down unless the Wings can find some momentum. To make it even worse, the Wings also have the toughest schedule remaining in the NHL. If the Red Wings want to sneak into the playoffs they will need a lot of big wins. Even though it’s not impossible, it will be tough for the Red Wings to try and break the second-longest playoff drought in the NHL.
Both the Pistons and Red Wings have played well this year and have exceeded expectations, but both teams have also struggled to perform consistently. With both the Pistons and Red Wings being inexperienced young teams it will be tough to exceed the odds and reach the next level, but Detroit sports teams have defined the odds before and there is no reason why the Pistons or Wings can’t do it too.
