The Detroit Pistons opened 2026-27 with a comeback, beating the Boston Celtics 121-113 after trailing by 13 at halftime and by as many as 22. Afterward, Cade Cunningham gave the credit to the shooters around him, as ClutchPoints reported.
“It’s a blessing. It makes my life easy,” Cunningham said.
The Splash Brothers of the Motor City?
Detroit hit 15 threes. Cade scored 22, Duncan Robinson added 21 with five triples, and Javonte Green came off the bench to hit five more. Isaiah Joe, Kevin Huerter and Daniss Jenkins combined for four. Cade said the spacing also opens things up for Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, and that the team’s chemistry will keep growing as the season goes on.
The IAHHM Take
Nobody was hyping the Pistons this summer. They lost Tobias Harris in free agency, didn’t make many big moves and dragged through a long restricted free agency with Duren. But this team’s identity was never about flash. Detroit had the league’s second-best defense last season, and that’s still the foundation.
Here’s why this one matters: if that defense now comes with real shooting around Cade, defenses can’t load up on him the way they used to. That’s how a team quietly turns into a problem. ClutchPoints even floated another 60-win season as a possibility. That’s a big leap off one night, but coming back from 22 down on the Celtics is how you start building belief.
Cade has carried a lot in Detroit. If the shooters keep falling, his life really does get easier, and the East gets a lot more interesting.
Are the Pistons a legit top-four team in the East, or are we overreacting to opening night?
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Source: ClutchPoints
