The Detroit Pistons looked like the NBA’s feel-good story of the year, with the team winning 60 games and earning the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Detroit hadn’t eclipsed 50 wins since 2008, and the Pistons looked poised for a potential East finals showdown with either the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics or the No. 3 seed New York Knicks. Instead, the Pistons will be happy to escape the first round as they face a 3–1 deficit against the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic.
“We’re going to come out punching,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters after a 94–88 Game 4 defeat on Monday. “That I promise you. We’re not going to lay down for anybody.
“It’s one game at home, and that’s what your focus is on, is you got to go home and win one game. And that’s where our mindset is,” Bickertaff added.
Detroit needs to win Game 5 at home on Wednesday to keep the season alive. While No. 8 seeds have upset No. 1 seeds six times since 1994, losing as a 60-win team is even more rare.
Only the 2007 Dallas Mavericks and 2011 San Antonio Spurs fell into that category. Detroit will need to win the next three games against the Magic to avoid becoming the third.
“This is a team that won 60 games,” Magic guard Desmond Bane told reporters. “I’m sure they will not blink an eye about being able to win three games in a row.
“They did it multiple times during the regular season,” Bane added. “We are going to have to come ready to play. I’m excited about the challenge.”
Bane has been a thorn in the Pistons’ side this series. He scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a Game 3 win, 113–105 on April 25 for a 2–1 series lead.
In Game 4, he delivered 22 points and five rebounds to help the Magic inch toward their first series win since 2010. He’s averaging 22.8 points, five rebounds and three assists per game in the series.
“They’re out-rebounding us, turning me over, we haven’t hit enough shots, our defense hasn’t caught its foot,” Pistons guard Cade Cunningham told reporters after Game 4. “So, it’s not shocking we’re losing games playing like that.”
Cunningham, a former No. 1 pick by the Pistons in 2021, helped the franchise turn things around in recent years. Despite the adversity he has faced in Detroit, he didn’t see this coming.
“I mean, going into [the playoffs I’d be] shocked,” Cunningham said. “But with the way that we’ve been playing, that stuff’s not good enough to win games, and this league’s too good.”
Detroit has struggled from the field and has turned over the ball often. The Pistons also haven’t been winning at rebounds.
“We got to take care of the basketball,” Pistons forward Tobias Harris told reporters after Game 4. “We got to win the rebounding battle. And we just got to be in the moment of what this is.
“This is playoff basketball. We got to be more ready to just go out there and scrap like we need it,” Harris added. “We’re a little too casual. Everybody knows that. In our locker room, we have to be better.”
Detroit’s urgency has only mounted, and center/power forward Isaiah Stewart sees that. A member of the Pistons since the team traded for him in 2020, he sees the next game and any remaining games in the series as a major test for the still relatively young squad.
“In these situations, you see who’s made of what,” Stewart told reporters. “Our back is against the wall, and it ain’t no quit. One game at a time, go protect the crib and come back to take one at their home. We’ve just got to take it a game at a time.”
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