TORONTO — Before even stepping onto the Scotiabank Arena floor Friday, Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff shed light on a phrase his team ended morning shootaround with. The saying the Pistons broke their huddle with was brief: “One more.”
While Bickerstaff said he and his coaching staff implemented the mantra as soon as he got to Detroit, the term held more weight Friday. That’s because the Pistons needed just one more win to secure their first playoff berth since 2019.
“It’s one of our cornerstones, one of our words we use just to push us over the edge,” Bickerstaff said pregame. “One more of everything, one more rotation. It’s just fitting, now that we need one to clinch a playoff spot. But, we know the process takes priority. Our guys will go out and focus on the process tonight.”
And focus on the process they did, as the Pistons beat the Raptors 117-105, with all five starters scoring in double-digit figures, to lock themselves into the playoffs and complete one of the most impressive turnarounds in NBA history. From 14 wins last season to 43 (and counting) now, with a guaranteed spot in the postseason.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 5-of-9 from 3-point range Friday to make it possible.
The last time the Pistons clinched a playoff spot, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey were high school students. Detroit’s 19-year-old rookie, Ron Holland II, was just preparing to enter his freshman year at Duncanville High School in Texas.
Tobias Harris, the team’s second-oldest player behind Hardaway, is on the opposite end of the spectrum. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers and made it to the second round during the same postseason action that saw the Pistons walk off the playoff stage for what would eventually become five seasons over six years. That is, until Friday.
For Detroit fans, it means that meaningful basketball during the spring is officially returning to Little Caesars Arena. While it remains to be seen where exactly the Pistons will land in the standings and who they will match up against, they’re in.
Friday’s win concluded a three-game road trip in which Detroit went 1-2. But the Pistons are back in action Saturday when they host the Memphis Grizzlies. That will be the first of a four-game homestand against the Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks. Detroit will close its season on the road in Milwaukee.
Each of the Pistons’ final three games will likely feel like tune-up games for the postseason, as the Knicks and Bucks will likely be jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference standings. Wherever Detroit falls in the standings should be irrelevant Friday, though.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Dan Hamilton / USA Today via Imagn Images)