The consensus on the Detroit Pistons heading into the 2026-27 season was down, as they lost solid veteran contributor Tobias Harris in free agency. Moreover, they did not make many meaningful additions to the roster this past offseason, and they had to deal with the drawn-out restricted free agency of Jalen Duren. But Cade Cunningham showed on opening night that he's the man as he led Detroit to a come-from-behind 121-113 victory over the Boston Celtics.

The Pistons fell down by 13 at the halftime interval, and the Celtics pushed their lead to as many as 22 points. However, Detroit buckled down on the defensive end just in time for their shots to start falling. While Cunningham finished with just 22 points on the night, he received plenty of help from veteran Duncan Robinson, who had 21 points of his own after drilling five threes. Javonte Green also stepped up off the bench, nailing five triples of his own.

Cunningham credited the Pistons' shooters for making their shots when it mattered, which made life so much easier for him and the rest of the team.

“It's a blessing. It makes my life easy. It makes [Jalen Duren] and [Ausar Thompson]'s life easier. We just got to keep getting our camaraderie, our synergy a little bit better. But that'll come as the season goes,” Cunningham told Robbie Hummel of NBC Sports in his postgame interview.

"It's a blessing. It makes my life easy."

Cade Cunningham on being surrounded by elite shooting as the Pistons drained 15 triples in a win to start the season! pic.twitter.com/ATVNGzvF9h

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) October 20, 2026

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Isaiah Joe, Kevin Huerter, and Daniss Jenkins combined to make four triples as well, and their mere presence on the court demands respect from the opposition's perimeter defenders. This then gave Cunningham, Duren, and Thompson so much space to operate.

But at the end of the day, the Pistons will make a living off of their elite defense. They posted the league's second-best defense last season, and there's no reason to believe that they'll get worse at that end of the floor. However, if they combine that with some improved outside shooting, perhaps another 60-win season could be in the cards.