Heading into the 2026-27 season, the general consensus on the Detroit Pistons seemed to be down. But many appeared to simply forget that this Pistons team won 60 games last season and brought back most of their core players. The prolonged Jalen Duren restricted free agency saga did not help the way they were perceived whatsoever. But this team seems to thrive whenever expectations for them are down.

To that end, the Pistons have now gotten off to a 3-0 start after securing a 106-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night. Detroit was without Duren due to a hamstring injury, but Cade Cunningham and company got the job done with some hard-nosed defense, tough shot-making, and solid execution on both ends of the floor.

After the game, Cunningham delivered praise for the way the Pistons approached this game from a mental standpoint, and he also called head coach JB Bickerstaff “the best coach in the league”.

“We're just staying steady. We're not getting ahead of ourselves. The togetherness is there. We got a great system, we got the best coach in the league,” Cunningham said in his postgame interview, via Oh No He Didn't on X.

Cade on the 3-0 Pistons:

"We're just staying steady. We're not getting ahead of ourselves. The togetherness is there. We got a great system, we got the best coach in the league"pic.twitter.com/lhP5uAv7vz

— Oh No He Didn't 🤯 (@ohnohedidnt24) October 26, 2026

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It helps that this Pistons team has continuity that they can cover for the absence of one of their best players. Moreover, it helps that the likes of Duncan Robinson and Daniss Jenkins were making shots (they combined for 39 points on the night) and John Collins is proving to be worth the contract the Pistons signed him to this past offseason that Cunningham didn't need to break his back from carrying the team on offense.

As he said earlier in the season, having this kind of help is a “blessing”. And now, the Pistons appear to be well on their way to having another strong season.

They will look to keep it going on Tuesday when they take on the reigning champion New York Knicks, who have started the season winless in three games.