NBA Stats Zone: Why Thunder-Cavs was great, what's behind the Kings and Pistons surges

Media discussions about the NBA's TV ratings have abounded in recent weeks, but an instant classic between the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder and East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers gave basketball fans a reprieve from the discourse.

Not only did the game average nearly two million viewers, but each team put on a show as the Cavs won 129-122 in Cleveland.

Here, in the latest installment of NBA Stats Zone, we'll get into the numbers behind that game and what made it so special, and we'll dive into the key stats from recent winning streaks by the Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings.

Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers rise to the occasion

The Thunder and Cavs had nine combined losses in 71 combined games played entering their Wednesday night clash, and between the defensive intensity and excellent shooting, the game certainly delivered.

Both head coaches, Kenny Atkinson of the Cavs and Mark Daigneault of the Thunder, have their teams playing intense, creative basketball on both ends of the floor. And, both coaching staffs have been instrumental in player development.

One stat that shows the effort between these teams is the amount of shots contested. Both teams attempted exactly 90 field goals, and the Cavs contested 58 of the Thunder's shot attempts while OKC contested 52 of the Cavs' shots, per NBA tracking stats.

For reference, the team that leads the league in shot contests per game is the Memphis Grizzlies with 43.5.

Despite the intense defense, both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor.

In addition, offensively, both teams took balanced approaches to scoring. The Thunder and Cavs each scored less than 35 percent of their points from three-point range, less than half their points from inside the paint, and they scored 17.2 percent and 14.7 percent of their points, respectively, off of turnovers.

Lastly, to illustrate how each team played great team basketball, both sides had over 70 percent of their made baskets come from assists, and nine players (four on the Thunder, five on the Cavs) had at least four assists.

The Thunder are +120 to win the West and the Cavs are +400 to win the East, so there's a chance this game was a preview of the 2025 NBA Finals.

The Detroit Pistons are rolling

It is mid-January, and the Detroit Pistons have already won more games in 2024/25 (19) than they did in all of 2023/24 (14).

The Pistons are currently .500 and sitting in eighth in the Eastern Conference, putting them on course for the Play-In Tournament. So, what's been different from last year?

Well, the team used 31 players under then-head coach Monty Williams last season. This season, new head coach JB Bickerstaff has used just 17 players.

Using a more consistent group of players makes any coach's job easier because the players develop a rhythm and chemistry and the coach doesn't have to change his strategy to suit whichever players he has available.

Beyond personnel, the Pistons last year ranked 27th out of 30 teams in three-point percentage (34.8 percent), last in steals (6.5), 26th in turnovers forced (12.4), 28th in turnovers committed (15.2), 27th in points per game (109.9) and 26th in points allowed (119.0).

This year, they're 17th in three-point percentage (36.2), 28th in steals (7.3), 16th in turnovers forced (14.7), 22nd in turnovers committed (15.8), 16th in points per game (111.8) and 16th in points allowed per game (113.2).

The Pistons also dominate the defensive boards (fifth in defensive rebounding percentage at 77.2 percent) thanks in large part to the development of young centers Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.

Plus, star player Cade Cunningham is playing at an All-Star level, 22-year-old shooting guard Jaden Ivey is shooting over 40 percent from three, and defensive ace Ausar Thompson is healthy and averaging 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

There are a lot of talented, young players in Detroit, and it appears quite a few of them are finally finding their feet at the NBA level. The Pistons are now +250 to make the Playoffs after entering the 2024/25 season at +1200 to do so.

Sacramento Kings surge under Doug Christie

The Sacramento Kings were 13-18 when they fired 2022/23 NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown.

Brown led the team to a 48-34 record in his award-winning season and that year saw the Kings break what was a 16-season playoff drought. That's why the decision received shocked reactions and some criticism from around the league.

Well, through six games under interim coach Doug Christie, the Kings are now 18-19 after a 5-1 run that includes five consecutive wins.

Sacramento's five straight wins have all come against good teams: The Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat.

So, aside from a newfound sense of urgency because of the implicit message sent from the front office whenever a coach is fired midseason, what has changed on the court?

First, most of Sacramento's players have increased their field goal percentages under Christie, despite the fact the team's best shooters are taking more threes.

Role players Keon Ellis and Trey Lyles have benefitted the most from this change in approach, as they're shooting 44.8 percent and 43.3 percent from three on 4.8 and 5.0 attempts per game, respectively, during Christie's short tenure so far.

The Kings' best players are also moving the ball better than usual. Domantas Sabonis has seen his 6.3 assists per game rise to 7.5 under Christie, De'Aaron Fox has gone from 6.2 to 6.8, and Malik Monk has gone from 5.2 to 7.2 while taking over a starting role.

The key reason behind the rise in both field goal percentage and assists could be the increased amount of ground that many key players have been covering since Christie took over.

Since Christie's first game on December 28th, per NBA tracking stats, Fox is fourth in the league with 2.93 miles run per game while Monk is 12th at 2.72 miles per game. Sabonis and Keegan Murray are slightly further back at 2.67 and 2.64, respectively.

When players move more without the ball, it makes them harder to defend, and we're seeing that in action with Christie's resurgent Kings.

Read the latest NBA news on site.

Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.