The Detroit Pistons held on last night to defeat the Denver Nuggets for the second time in a week, sweeping the season series against the third seed in the Western Conference.
It came just hours after it was announced that the Pistons traded Jaden Ivey in a move that put a disappointing end stop on Ivey’s career in Detroit.
We’ll have to see if the Pistons have something bigger in mind in the next 24 hours, but for now, it appears adding Kevin Huerter and moving up a few spots in the draft could be the big deadline move.
And if that really is it for the Pistons, they have made two powerful statements about where they think they are as a team.
The Pistons believe they can beat anyone and they might be right
Last night’s win improved the Pistons’ record against the Western Conference to 14-6 in the season. The Pistons also have the best record in the NBA against teams with a winning record, so this Isn't just them beating up on the bad teams in the East.
We’ve heard all year how the West is the superior conference and seen SUPER HILARIOUS terms like “Leastern Conference” (come on, guys) thrown about, but someone must have forgotten to tell the Pistons, as they’ve been running through the West, same as the East.
Detroit still hasn’t played the Thunder or Spurs, the two top teams in the West, but they will get their chance this month at the tail end of a tough stretch of the schedule.
Beating the Nuggets twice in a week (albeit once without Jokic) is a statement that the Pistons can beat anyone on a given night, even the best player in the world.
The Pistons didn’t think they needed a big move
Ok, so the trade deadline is not over yet, but it’s hard to imagine the Pistons making a splashy move, especially now that the Huerter trade has been made official.
There was some thought that the Pistons might fold that deal into something bigger, but Huerter cannot be aggregated with other players anyway, so that was a long shot.
Guys like Michael Porter Jr. and Trey Murphy III never really appeared available, so the big move wasn’t there for Detroit, though we know things can change quickly in the next day.
It’s also a sign that Detroit didn’t really think they needed a big move to be competitive and wasn’t ready to punt on what they have when they are in first place by 5.5 games, and most of their players aren’t near their peaks.
It might be frustrating for the fans who wanted Detroit to do something big to chase a title, but this should be a sign that the Pistons think they can chase one as soon as this season and if not, in the near future.
The Pistons believe they are on the path to a championship and are handling their business against the best teams in the league.