Debating Ron Holland’s star potential
Bryce and Omari talk the high ceiling of Detroit Pistons rookie Ron Holland. Full pod out now.
The Detroit Pistons have been one of the league’s brightest teams for nearly a month. They added to their in-season turnaround with another victory on Saturday night.
The Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena, 123-114. With the win, the Pistons are back above .500 at 20-19, cracking the 20-win threshold for the first time since 2021-22 — with 43 games still on the schedule. They’ve won six of seven games and nine of their past 11. (It was also their fifth straight win over the Raptors.)
Cade Cunningham secured his seventh triple-double of the season with 22 points, 17 assists (one shy of his career-high) and 10 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with a season-high 27 points, shooting 9-for-12 overall and 7-for-8 from 3, and Tobias Harris added 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Pistons led by 13 in the first quarter, but it was otherwise a close game for most of the night. Toronto tied the game at 32 by the end of the first, and there were 16 lead changes and 10 ties. Even though the Pistons shot 52.4% overall and 57.6% from 3, the Raptors kept within distance by scoring 23 points off 17 Pistons turnovers.
With under five minutes remaining and trailing by two, Toronto’s Jacob Poeltl and RJ Barrett missed a pair of free throws apiece on back-to-back possessions. Cunningham then gave the Pistons a 113-109 cushion with a midrange jumper.
With 2:31 left, a dunk from Jalen Duren extended their lead to six, and Malik Beasley’s 3-point dagger with 1:44 on the clock pushed the lead to 118-111, virtually clinching the win.
The Pistons’ certainly missed Hardaway’s scoring punch on Thursday, when they just couldn’t muster enough offense during a home loss to the Golden State Warriors. He put together one of his best performances of the season during his return Saturday.
Hardaway was on fire from the jump, knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts in the opening quarter, and two within the opening minutes. He hit two more in the closing minutes of the second half, helping the Pistons regain the lead after a Raptors push made them face their first deficit of the night, 56-54, with 2:44 to play until halftime.
The third period was his strongest — he knocked down all four of his attempts, including two 3-pointers, for 11 points in the quarter. He gave the Pistons the lead twice early in the third with his sixth 3-pointer, and a strong drive through contact that created an opportunity for a three-point play.
It was his second time in three games scoring at least 26 points, and his seven made 3-pointers were a season-high.
Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff opened his pregame press conference with words of support for the victims of the fires in Los Angeles that struck the Palisades, among other areas. He matched his words with his actions, as well.
He agreed to donate $500 toward relief efforts for every assist the Pistons tallied on Saturday. Throughout the game, the Pistons displayed a QR code for NBA Cares on the video board at center court, directing fans toward resources such as American Red Cross and World Central Kitchen.
“I just wanted to take some time to acknowledge what’s going on in the Los Angeles area, and the families and people and how they’re impacted,” Bickerstaff said. “I was moved to this reading some stuff that JJ Redick was going through, Steve Kerr’s family and community is going through, and I just want to make sure we take this time to find a way to support one another the best way we possibly can. The people that are going through these things, how all of us can do something, no matter what it is, to just reach out and help humanity at this point.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.
Detroit’s dining scene just got even more flavorful with the opening of Sunda New Asian, bringing modern Southeast Asian cuisine to the city.
Restaurant owner Billy Dec joins the show to share what guests can expect from the new hotspot, from bold dishes and incredible cocktails to an energetic atmosphere.
Watch the video above to see what’s cooking up at Sunda New Asian.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Detroit Lions podcast includes Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
Nolan and Richard are joined by Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
By this point in the offseason, it’s well documented who the Detroit Lions have added, as well as who they’ve lost.
Former Carolina Panthers center Cade Mays was the prize of free agency. He’ll replace Graham Glasgow in the middle of Detroit’s offensive line. Clemson’s Blake Miller, selected 17th overall in April’s draft, is poised to quickly take over at the tackle spot opposite Penei Sewell, stepping in for Taylor Decker. The pass rush was overhauled across from Aidan Hutchinson, with Ahmed Hassanein and Tyler Lacy being the only other edge defenders still on the roster from last season.
Today, we’ll try to take our analysis a step further, identifying a few patterns within Detroit’s offseason approach and exploring what those acquisitions, retentions and departures mean for a Lions team looking to bounce back and reemerge as a title contender in 2026.
Detroit’s offense had its own share of issues throughout 2025. But what the defense produced down the stretch with the season on the line failed to meet reasonable expectations. Opponents averaged 28.1 points and 382.1 yards per game from Weeks 12-18, a stretch that resulted in four losses. Pinning all of Detroit’s defensive woes on one factor would be foolish (and you can’t ignore the role injuries played), but an inconsistent, at best, pass rush certainly didn’t help. The Lions owned the third-slowest time to pressure (2.86 seconds) in the NFL last season, according to Next Gen Stats.
Aside from the retooling opposite Hutchinson, the Lions also seemingly put an emphasis on acquiring interior defensive linemen who can get after the passer. Levi Onwuzurike is back after his contract tolled last season — Josh Paschal, a run-defending lineman who also had his contract tolled but was released in March, wasn’t afforded the same opportunity — and the Lions spent a couple of late-round draft picks on Texas Tech’s Skyler Gill-Howard and Tennessee’s Tyre West. Both players were drafted because of the flashes they’ve shown as pass rushers, particularly Gill-Howard, whose win rate in 2025 (14.4%) ranked 10th out of the 512 FBS interior defenders who rushed the passer on at least 100 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Copying the Super Bowl champions isn’t always wise — every team’s personnel has its own set of skills — but it’s striking how much Detroit’s defense differed from that of the Seattle Seahawks, who rode their defense on the way to winning the franchise’s second title. The Lions led the league in use of base defense (three linebackers) last season, deploying those packages for 657 plays, according to Next Gen Stats. The Seahawks were last, with 66 plays. It was the opposite for use of nickel defense (five defensive backs), with the Seahawks leading the league (815) and the Lions at 32nd (355). Of course, Seattle is unique, given head coach Mike Macdonald’s defensive system and nickelback Nick Emmanwori’s immediate impact as a rookie.
The Lions won’t overhaul their entire scheme in one offseason, but it’s difficult to see their moves in totality and not come away thinking they could lean more on nickel packages in 2026. Alex Anzalone, one of the league’s better linebackers against the pass, allowed the Lions to play base defense as much as they did, as he was comfortable in coverage. He’s now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions added a number of viable options to play nickelback next season, including veterans Christian Izien Jr. and Roger McCreary, as well as fifth-round rookie Keith Abney II (Arizona State).
Assuming the starting five, from left to right, winds up being Sewell, Christian Mahogany, Mays, Tate Ratledge and Miller, Detroit’s offensive line will have an average age of 25.2 next season. That’s down from 2025 (27.8) and 2024 (29.8). In no way does the influx of youth indicate surefire success, but the Lions would certainly be set up for sustained success if each of the five projected starters reach their ceilings. The offensive line could be even younger if 2025 fifth-rounder Miles Frazier, who is 11 months younger than Mahogany, wins the starting job at left guard. Juice Scruggs, another contender at left guard, is nine months older than Mahogany. Ben Bartch, 27, is the veteran option.
Whether Mays continues ascending at center will be key to Detroit’s success in 2026. He’s only started 20 games at the position over his four seasons in the NFL, and all of those starts have come within the last two years. He showed week-to-week growth in his 12 starts in 2025, enough for the Lions to commit $25 million ($14 million guaranteed) to him over the next three years. Mays surrendered 13 pressures last season and didn’t allow sack, according to PFF.
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
How the PWHL unveiled Detroit’s team amid much fanfare
Chris Ilitch, Mary Sheffield, Jayna Hefford and Amy Scheer talk about the PWHL Detroit team on May 6, 2026.
Josh Sciba comes to the Detroit Professional Women’s Hockey League team with a tremendous recent accolade.
Named to coach the ninth franchise in the PWHL’s history on Thursday, May 28, Sciba joins the team fresh off having served as an assistant coach with the women’s team that won the gold medal at the 2026 Milano Olympics.
“I’m incredibly honored and excited for the opportunity to become the coach of PWHL Detroit and beyond grateful for the trust placed in me to help lead the organization from the beginning,” Sciba said in a statement. “This is home and especially meaningful for me and my entire family, knowing Detroit’s rich hockey history and identity firsthand and how much the women’s hockey community has been yearning for this moment.”
The Detroit PWHL team has taken shape over the past month: From being introduced on May 6 in a gala event at Little Caesars Arena (where the team will play starting late November/early December 2026) to naming Manon Rheaume general manager on May 15.
“Josh is a highly respected coach with a knowledge of the game and experience at all levels of women’s hockey that set him apart, and his passion for teaching and individual character are qualities I value in a leader,” Rhéaume said in a release “Hockeytown is in his blood, and this is an opportunity I know he is eager to embrace with an understanding of what it means to represent this city and be part of its legacy.”
Next on the agenda is shaping the roster itself, which will happen at the June 17 expansion draft at Detroit’s Fox Theatre.
Sciba, 41 and a native of Westland, has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the PWHL’s New York Sirens and brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to the role.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
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