The Detroit Pistons are 5-1 and sit atop the Eastern Conference. They have the best defensive rating in the league, and despite playing without Jalen Duren, they have been blowing out their opposition on most nights.
This, of course, requires quality individual performances. Let's take a look at which Pistons have been trending up since the start of the season, two weeks ago.
Duncan Robinson
The Pistons added some shooting this offseason, but they continue to be highly dependent on Robinson. The 32-year-old sharpshooter remains one of the most important players on the team, due to his elite off-ball gravity and floor-spacing ability.
So far, he has been even deadlier from the three-point range, increasing his three-point attempts to 8.8 per game and his accuracy to 41.5%. He has a career-high usage rate of 21.7%. As a result, he is putting up a career-high 16.8 points per game.
With Robinson on the floor, the Pistons are a whopping 13.6 points per 100 possessions better compared to when he is on the bench, per Cleaning the Glass.
Proving his worth to the Pistons, Robinson isn't going anywhere, regardless of how appealing it may be to use his $15.9 million salary in a trade for a star.
Paul Reed
What a luxury it is to have Reed as your backup center. Thrust into a starting role after Jalen Duren suffered a hamstring strain in the second game of the season, Reed has once again been fantastic.
Despite playing more minutes than he ever has, Reed is in the midst of his most efficient season with impressive 63.0/71.4/76.9 shooting splits.
Reed's ability to increase his role and usage depending on the team's needs is an underrated NBA skill. And this will get him paid when he hits free agency in the summer of 2027.
Daniss Jenkins
Some were wondering whether Jenkins' spot in the rotation was up for grabs after the arrivals of Isaiah Joe and Ebuka Okorie, and the re-signing of Kevin Huerter. As good as Jenkins was in his first true season in the NBA, he was also wildly inconsistent and inefficient. It was reasonable to think that his emergence may have been a one-season wonder.
So far, he has proven that is not the case. The 25-year-old combo guard has been better than he was last season. He is averaging 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game after seeing a rise in his minutes from 20.2 per game to 24.7. His efficiency has gone up from 52.5% True Shooting to 60.1%.
A lot of this is fueled by his 45.5% accuracy from the three-point range. There will be some regression to the mean in terms of shooting, but that is not the only improvement. Jenkins has been solid defensively, is turning the ball over less, and has been finishing better. Barring an unexpected development, Jenkins will continue to play a large role for this team.
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