Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff cites Kevin Durant to dismiss ex-Warrior's take on Cade Cunningham's growth

The Detroit Pistons are having their best season in a long time. Detroit finds itself at 21-19 and sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference. First-year coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been a big factor in the success, but another reason is the play of Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft.

Cunningham has had a breakout year, averaging career highs across the board in points per game (24.5), assists per game (9.4) and rebounds per game (6.6) as well as field-goal percentage (46.0%) and 3-point percentage (38.2%).

Cade Cunningham's play has drawn discussion around the basketball community. When asked about comments from former NBA star Gilbert Arenas suggesting that Cunningham is too good for Detroit, J.B. Bickerstaff said:

"I would just disagree, Kevin Durant was pretty good in Oklahoma City, Tim Duncan in San Antonio. In this day and age, the basketball travels. There's so many outlets. ... The game is so big that, to me, I just disagree with that.

"There was a time you needed to be in New York or LA or Boston to be marketable, but Detroit's won championships with a certain style of play."

Bickerstaff was responding to what Arenas said on his "Players Choice" show.

"Some of these young kids, they're so good (that) they're too good for their city," Arenas, who was drafted by the Golden State Warriors but blossomed with the Washington Wizards, said. "Some cities like Detroit. ... His (Cade) game is big-city game, so he's gonna be in one of those big-city types."

Pistons secure winning record at halfway point of season for the first time since 2017-2018

The Detroit Pistons have been one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises. After finishing 15th (last), 15th, 14th, 15th and 13th in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons have found their stride. Detroit defeated the New York Knicks 124-119 on Monday to give it a winning record at the halfway point of the season for the first time since the 2017-2018 season.

At seventh in the East, that finish would be quite an improvement over the previous five years. Detroit has not finished above 13th in the East since 2018-2019, which was also the last time they made the playoffs. If the Pistons can keep this up, they are on their way to a potential play-in birth or a playoff spot for the first time this decade.