Grading the Pistons at midseason

Their offense is a work in process (Grade: B-)

The Pistons’ middle-of-the-pack offense is nothing to write home about, but so what? Their dominant defense compensates for their offensive shortcomings, and nobody writes home anyway. The one concerning weakness might be their three-point field goal percentage (35.2 percent), which ranks 19th. In today's trey-happy NBA, that could cause problems.

Their depth is remarkable (Grade: A)

Night after night, someone on the Pistons’ bench makes a major contribution. That has allowed them to keep winning despite injuries, back-to-back games or subpar performances by their starters. One night, it’s journeyman center Paul Reed dropping 28 points on the Chicago Bulls, and the next it’s guard Marcus Sasser bombarding the Los Angeles Lakers with 25. In a recent blowout of the Indiana Pacers, the Pistons emptied the bench to start the fourth quarter with a 39-point lead and won by 43. On most nights, there is very little drop-off when they go to the bench.

J.B. Bickerstaff has been masterful (Grade: A) 

The NBA Coach of the Year Award usually goes to the coach whose team exceeds expectations by the widest margin. J.B. Bickerstaff’s team has definitely done that. Night after night, Bickerstaff distributes minutes skillfully to a deep bench while keeping the Pistons in every game. Of their 10 losses, only two, a 116-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and a 112-99 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers, have been by more than six points.

Ultimately, the success of the Pistons’ season will be determined by their performance in the postseason, but at the regular season’s halfway point, things are looking pretty good in Motown.