After a tremendous run in the regular season, the top-seeded Detroit Pistons find their campaign coming to an end. With a 125-94 loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 at home, Cade Cunningham and the Pistons have been eliminated from the postseason.
An inspired run in the regular season, spurred by Cade Cunningham’s tremendous performances, instilled hope in Detroit’s chances of making a title push. Although it proved insufficient, during his postgame media availability, Pistons’ head coach J.B. Bickerstaff noted that Detroit’s season was far from being a disappointment.
“It’s not a disappointment at all. Not ever will I be disappointed in these guys,” Bickerstaff stated. “These guys, every single day, give us what they’ve got. It is not a disappointment. It’s a loss; it’s a tough loss. But that adjective will never be used with this group.”
“I don’t think we fell short of anything,” he added. “These guys have improved massively and have done a great job. Anything but positivity toward this group is unacceptable. The turnaround from where we’ve come from, what these guys have been willing to do.”
“Everybody wants to win a championship every year. But how much did you grow? How much did you improve? Did you sacrifice for the greater good of the team? Our guys did that collectively, every single day, and we got better. We put ourselves in a position to be here. So there’s nothing disappointing about this group or the outcome of this.”
Bickerstaff’s statement about the season is a clear indication of how much faith he had in this unit. Although they came up short, considering that they barely made the playoffs last season, the fact that they secured the top seed this year and made it out of the first round after a grueling seven-game series is impressive for a young team.
For the most part, Pistons superstar Cade Cunningham also aligned with Bickerstaff’s outlook, stating:
“He’s [Bickerstaff] right. We had a great year. We grew a lot. We grew from last year. That was the whole goal of this season – to grow and to become a better team than last year. We did that.”
The Pistons ended the 2024-25 regular season with a 44-38 record. In comparison, their 60-22 record this year is truly remarkable. Still, it was apparent that Cade Cunningham was disappointed with the outcome of their second-round series, as he continued:
“Obviously, a disappointing series right here. Fell short of doing enough of the right things to win the series. But we were the No. 1 seed for a reason. We won a lot of games this year. We played great basketball all year long. We really established an identity and stuff that we didn’t have for a long time. So, all of those things are positives that we will take into the offseason and come back next year and go for it.”
Cade Cunningham’s reaction to the loss may be linked to his own underwhelming performance on Sunday night. In a must-win game, Cunningham posted 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while shooting 5-16 from the field. Considering that he didn’t receive much support either, there is little the superstar could have done to turn things around for his team.
When asked about how this loss would fuel their performance in the offseason and the coming season, he replied:
“There was a great opportunity this season to move forward and to continue to experience new things that we hadn’t been exposed to. Fell short. We were right there, but we fell short. I think that chip and that sting are going to sit for a while. Gotta work through it and continue to grow.”
As Cade Cunningham mentioned, the sting from losing at this juncture will linger for a long time. Unfortunately, the Pistons may not have the luxury to dwell on it for an extended period.
With the offseason officially underway, Detroit will begin charting out ways to improve its roster and provide Cade Cunningham with the support he needs going into the 2026-27 season. While players such as Jalen Duren have proven themselves to be vital members of the core, their performances in the playoffs may dictate how well they will be compensated once contract negotiations begin.
