Led by Cade Cunningham and Marcus Sasser, the Pistons relied upon a game of soccer to close their five-game road trip with a win vs. the Lakers.

The Miami Heat face the Detroit Pistons Thursday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Tip-off set for 7 p.m. ET.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/pistons/onsi as Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons take slight dip in final 2025 NBA power rankings. The Detroit Pistons are among the best teams in the NBA, but there is still something holding them back from being considered the best.

Detroit took some time to decompress and then got an unexpected boost from a previously little-used role player, showing off its depth.

Superstar Luka Doncic falls into the category of not being a talented defender, and his willingness to play defense has been questioned many times. It hasn't stopped after Hall of Famer and Indiana Pacers legend, Reggie Miller, called out the five-time All-Star for not trying to help on defense on Tuesday.

The Detroit Pistons defeated his Los Angeles Lakers 128-106 at Crypto.com Arena to improve to an Eastern Conference-best 25-8. They also snapped a two-game losing streak in the process and look the part of a true contender in the early going this season.

Detroit Pistons veteran forward Tobias Harris exited the first half of their road game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

Surprisingly, the Pistons find themselves atop the East, but don't expect their thinking ahead of Feb. 5 to change.

The Anthony Davis rumors and speculation around the Detroit Pistons and the Toronto Raptors get an important update.

Cade Cunningham is aiming to be the first Pistons player to go to back-to-back All-Star games since 2007-2008.