'A big deal': Pistons climb from worst to playoffs
Written by I Dig Sports
TORONTO -- One year after finishing with the worst record in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19.
The Pistons punched their postseason ticket with a 117-105 victory over Toronto on Friday night.
No NBA team has ever gone from a worse record than Detroit's 14 wins last season to earning a playoff berth the following year.
"It's a big deal," first-year Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "We typically don't take time to reflect on where we are, but this is an opportunity for this group to reflect on where it is, where it's come from and what it's been able to accomplish together. To turn it around the way they have and put themselves in this position to play in the postseason, it's a big deal."
Detroit's Jalen Duren, who had 21 points and 18 rebounds Friday, said it felt good to reach the playoffs after not winning more than 17 games in either of his first two NBA seasons. Detroit is 43-34 with five games remaining.
"People doubted us," Duren said. "They didn't believe. They thought it would take longer for us to turn this thing around but we're here.
"We're not done yet. We're going to take a moment to enjoy what we've accomplished, but it's only milestones. The real goal, obviously, is to bring championships back to our city."
The Pistons finished eighth in the Eastern Conference and were swept by Milwaukee in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. Before that, Detroit's previous two playoff appearances were also eighth-place finishes and first-round sweeps, both to Cleveland, in 2016 and 2009.
The Pistons haven't won a playoff series since finishing second in the East in 2007-08, winning series over Philadelphia and Orlando before losing to Boston in the conference finals.
Duren said the Pistons won't be satisfied with simply reaching the playoffs.
"We're happy, but everybody's mindset is that this isn't the championship," Duren said. "We haven't done anything yet."