Isiah Thomas Has Full Belief in Pistons’ Title Chances
Isiah Thomas isn’t concerned at all about the Detroit Pistons’ lack of playoff experience.
The Hall of Fame point guard knows better than anybody what it takes to lead a championship team, doing so as the point guard of the “Bad Boy Pistons” of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Thomas led the Pistons to back-to-back championships and won Finals MVP in 1990.
Fast forward to the present day, Pistons, and they’re clearly the Eastern Conference’s best team. Detroit currently has the best record in the conference, a distinction they’ve held the entire season. Entering Wednesday night’s slate of games, the Pistons are 37-12 and hold a five-and-a-half game advantage over the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
Their one potential downfall is that the core led by Cade Cunningham lacks playoff experience. In fact, Cunningham has just one playoff series under his belt, a seven-game playoff series loss to the New York Knicks last season.
That doesn’t faze Thomas at all.
“That’s not a concern at all,” said Thomas in a one-on-one interview with R.org. “They have know how and what I mean by know how, they know how to win. Cade Cunningham is possibly MVP of the league. They got (Jalen) Duren, who’s an All Star. They got (Isaiah) Stewart, who could be the defensive player of the year also. They’re covered in every area they got. They got great coaching.”
“I just don’t think that lack of playoff experience will be a problem,” Thomas continued. “I think that the playoff experience that they got last year playing against the Knicks, they’re ready, and they’re primed to do big things.”
Cade Comparisons
Shortly after our interview, the Pistons defeated the Denver Nuggets, one of the best teams in the Western Conference in recent years. Cunningham scored 29 points and dished 10 assists — he leads the league in the latter category — in the 124-121 win over the Nuggets.
When asked who Cunningham reminds him of, Thomas went way back and compared the face of the current Pistons to former NBA All-Star guard Michael Ray Richardson. Richardson was a four-time All-Star and led the league in assists in 1980. He also had a similar frame at 6-foot-5 to Cunningham’s 6-foot-6 frame.
“I would say when Michael Ray Richardson was at his best, he and Cade have very similar games in what Michael Ray was good at, control and tempo,” said Thomas.
“He was a big guard, a great mid-range player, but then he also would feed his big man. What sets Cade apart in this generation of players at the point guard position, Cade is willing to share the basketball with his big men, so Stewart and Duren as centers, they get a chance to really play. They get a chance to really touch the basketball and really affect the game offensively.
“Most point guards right now, they don’t share the ball with their big man,” said Thomas. “They only use their big men as screeners and lob threats, where Cade is actually feeding those guys underneath the basket, giving them an opportunity to touch and play post basketball. Michael Ray Richardson was excellent at that also.”
Thomas is very high on Cunningham, referring to him as an “old-school” player. That’s the ultimate compliment from a guy that Michael Jordan once referred to as the second-best point guard of all time behind Magic Johnson.
“Cade is an old school player,” said Thomas. “He’s a guy that can eat, he can eat his food without eating yours. Most players today want to eat their food and eat yours too. Not Cade. Cade eats what’s on his plate, and then he has the ability to share sometimes also.”
Pistons’ Competition
Thomas calls the Pistons the favorites in the East, but acknowledges with the right moves, other teams could leap over Detroit. It’s worth noting that the Pistons were active at the trade deadline, trading Jaden Ivey for Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric. The Cleveland Cavaliers made a major move in acquiring former NBA MVP James Harden. The Boston Celtics also made a move, acquiring former two-time All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic for Anfernee Simons.
“The Celtics, there’s some talk about (Jayson) Tatum coming back,” said Thomas.
“If the Celtics make the right trade, they’re they’re right there again, Cleveland is always going to be good with Mitchell. And then you got the Knicks. I watched (Jalen) Brunson do spectacular things last year and the year before. I would never bet against Brunson. He will always find a way. There are a couple of threats to the Pistons right now, and any time you get those type of players on the teams, you got a chance.”
Thomas said the Harden-Donovan Mitchell pairing will work. The Cavaliers are a year removed from having the best record in the East and had struggled a little during the first half of this season, currently ranking tied with the Toronto Raptors for fourth in the East. The hope is that acquiring Harden will get them back to the level they were at last season.
“Harden is an exceptional talent,” said Thomas. “Not only is he an exceptional talent, but he’s a great scorer, and he’s a great competitor. You add him to Mitchell, you know it works.”