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Paul George has decided to stop podcasting in order to try to get his 20-38 team together in this disaster of a season. I’m guessing we’ll be firing up that podcast before the first round of the playoffs begin.
Deeeetroit Basketball!
Are the Pistons the next Thunder? Is that crazy?
The Pistons are having their best season in 17 years. During that span, they’ve had two non-losing seasons (44 wins in 2015-16, and 41 in 2018-19). But they never looked like this in those campaigns. The Pistons took a seven-game win streak onto their home court last night with the defending champion Celtics coming to douse them with cold water and hot outside-shooting.
At one point, it looked like the Celtics would absolutely rain on the Pistons’ parade. Detroit used an 11-0 run to take control of the game at the end of the first quarter, but the inevitability of the Celtics came crashing through like the Kool-Aid Man in the second quarter. Next thing you knew, a 15-point lead was gone by halftime. We’ve seen this story from both the Celtics and the Pistons before. Boston was headed toward a double-digit road win with a big second half. We all knew it was coming. Well, the Pistons didn’t know. Or maybe they did and just didn’t care.
Detroit outscored Boston by 11 in the third quarter and nine in the fourth. The Pistons (33-26) ended up with a convincing 117-97 victory over the Celtics (42-17), and it was a total team effort. It wasn’t just Cade Cunningham being great or Malik Beasley getting hot. Everybody on the floor did their job and executed J.B. Bickerstaff’s game plan. Cunningham finished with 21 points and 11 assists. Beasley had 26 off the bench. And the Pistons held the Celtics under 100 points, marking just the fifth time Boston has failed to hit triple digits this season.
I asked a pretty absurd question above, wondering if the Pistons are the next Thunder. It’s a ridiculous thing to query. Look at the Thunder. And look at the Pistons. Yes, Detroit has now won eight straight for the first time since George W. Bush was in the White House (2008). Indeed, the Thunder’s record is 14.5 games better. But let’s take a look at where Oklahoma City once was and where Detroit is coming from:
- Five seasons ago, the Thunder won just 22 games and followed that up with a 24-win season.
- They caught everybody’s eye with a young team and a lot of good potential by going 40-42 in the 2022-23 campaign.
- Last season, they catapulted themselves to the No. 1 seed in the West with a 57-25 record.
- They’re on pace for 66 wins this season.
Detroit has had a much more dour recent history. Over the previous five seasons, Detroit won a total of 94 games and never really received much lottery luck, other than ending up with Cade Cunningham first overall in 2021. But he’s blossomed from a player who is oft-injured with good numbers but no closing ability to an All-Star and potential All-NBA guy this season.
The Pistons are on pace to go from 14 wins and the longest losing streak in NBA history last season to 46 wins this campaign. They didn’t make big trades or overhaul their roster. They brought in some veterans and Bickerstaff to coach. Beasley is having one of the 10 best 3-point shooting seasons we’ve ever seen. Ausar Thompson is making huge strides. And even Tobias Harris is rehabbing the perception of him on the internet.
And before someone tries to tell you that Monty Williams laid the framework for this, let me promise you he did not. I’m not anti-Williams, but he did an atrocious job coaching the Pistons last season. They had to cut Killian Hayes just to stop Williams from playing him! The Pistons were 27th in offense and 25th in defense under Williams. They’re currently 13th on offense and 11th on defense.
Maybe calling the Pistons the next Thunder is ridiculous. (OK, it is.) But this team is legitimately good, on the rise and one I wouldn’t want to battle in the East in a year or two.
The Last 24
Pelicans star needs to show leadership
🏀 Something to prove. The 15-43 Pelicans’ season is lost, but Zion Williamson still needs to lead.
🏀 Los Angeles winning big. The Lakers (35-21) have consecutive wins against Denver and Dallas. Is it time to call them contenders?
🏀 Sweet revenge. Speaking of the Lakers, Luka Dončić sent a message to the Mavericks (31-28): It was dumb to trade him.
🎯 Nothing but net. Knicks guard Deuce McBride is a master of the swish. He’s mad when his shots hit the rim.
📈 Big board time. Are you ready to discuss the best prospects for the 2025 NBA Draft? Check out Sam Vecenie’s top 100!
📺 Don’t miss this game tonight. Nuggets (38-20) at Bucks (32-25), 8 p.m. on TNT. It’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s Nikola Jokic. What more do you need?
📺 Late night showdown. Timberwolves (32-27) at Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET on Fubo (try free here) or League Pass (get LP here). Put the kids to bed for this showdown.
Absolute Destruction
Shaedon Sharpe creates art at the rim
Trail Blazers wing Shaedon Sharpe is no stranger to a highlight reel. He’s one of the greatest high-flyers in the game today and more than willing to drop the hammer on a foolish defender thinking they can jump with him. That’s what happened during the 26-33 Blazers’ 129-121 victory over the Wizards (10-48) last night. After a turnover early in the second quarter ended up in Sharpe’s hands, we saw what might be the Dunk of the Year.
Justin Champagnie must have forgotten where he was — or who Sharpe is. Maybe he forgot what a business decision is and that there’s no shame in making one, because he naively thought he could jump up and deter Sharpe from putting the ball on his head. That’s exactly what Sharpe did when he took off with both feet, cocked the ball back toward the free-throw line and detonated the Wizards. Marvel at this:
Ay dios mio! That is absurd. That is not just dunking on Champagnie, but also on Etan Thomas, Juwan Howard and Gheorghe Mursean all in one time-warping moment. It’s shades of Vince Carter dunking on Alonzo Mourning, right down to it being a loose ball in the backcourt and pretty close to the angle of the dunk.
Take a look at this screenshot someone on BlueSky threw my way. Sharpe has the entire ball above the box on the backboard. I’ve never seen this before.
It was actually a really fun game as Sharpe finished with 36 points off the bench. That dunk should have counted for 20. I know he pulled out of the dunk contest a couple years ago. NBA, there is absolutely no reason not to make him do the contest next year.
More from last night’s action
Knicks 110 (38-20), 76ers 105: New York was cruising in this one, and it looked like another blowout loss for Philly. Then, Paul George went off in the second half, and the Sixers found themselves up four late in the fourth. Jalen Brunson took over, had everybody get out of his way and buried the Sixers with 34 points as the Knicks avoided a terrible loss.
Thunder 129 (47-11), Nets 121 (21-37): Oklahoma City was in danger of a really bad road loss when they were down 15 in the third quarter. But an 18-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter turned this into a comeback victory. Four different Thunderers had at least 22 points.
Rockets 118 (37-22), Spurs 106 (24-33): Amen Thompson led the way with 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists. This wasn’t as close as the final score says. Houston was up 26 after three quarters, and San Antonio didn’t have a single starter in double figures.
Clippers 122 (32-26), Bulls 117 (23-36): James Harden had 30 points, Amir Coffey added 20 off the bench and the Clippers stayed a half-game ahead of Minnesota for sixth in the West.
Heat 131 (27-30), Hawks 109 (27-32): Atlanta beat Miami on Monday to get ahead in the standings. They swapped places again with the latter getting this one back. The Heat hit 23 3-pointers, including Davion Mitchell going 5 of 5.
Pacers 111 (33-24), Raptors 91 (18-41): Tyrese Haliburton had 33 points and 11 assists with this game becoming a laugher in the third quarter.
Kings 118 (30-28), Jazz 101 (14-44): Keegan Murray’s jumper is back! He went 5 of 10 from deep to lead the Kings with 26 points.
What’s Next?
Joel Embiid’s report options aren’t so great
Recently, we here at The Bounce have been calling for the 76ers to punt on the season by getting Joel Embiid the surgery and rest his knee deserves. This week, The Athletic’s Tony Jones expounded on the idea some. Embiid has only played in 19 games this season and has looked nothing like the MVP we saw two years ago. He doesn’t even look like the hobbling hero he attempted to be in last year’s first-round loss to the Knicks.
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The Sixers have been exploring options on how to make Embiid healthy and what to do with him the rest of the season. Maybe that is a surgery soon to give him extended time to recover and get ready for next season. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, there have been some pretty “radical” options on the table.
“The same Sixer who made “orbital bone fracture” and “navicular bone fracture” common phrases in Philadelphia sports lexicon — he’s had two of each — might soon add one of these: meniscus replacement; low-dose radiation therapy; or even the ominous-sounding osteotomy, in which doctors break a bone in the hip to realign the joint to alleviate pressure.”
If these are actually options Embiid and the Sixers have to entertain, this feels super disheartening for the 2022-23 MVP. A meniscus replacement is a major operation. Despite all my years of watching “ER,” I do not know what low-dose radiation therapy would entail. Unless it’s making him the Hulk of some sort. And just the idea you’d break a hip bone to realign the body feels as bad as a microfracture surgery.
We know Embiid’s situation is not in a good place. We’ve known that for a year now since his last injury. My fear is we won’t see him have a sustained, elite period of play much again. He’s about to turn 31 next month. That’s not old, not even by NBA standards. But considering his body’s history, it feels like an old 31. Let’s hope for the best and to see him dominate again next season.
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(Top photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images )
