Besides the Knicks, I feel like DET hasn't looked that great when they play some of the other top teams. Like even CLE + OKC recently, they only barely beat them despite those teams missing a bunch of guys. And CLE beat them most recently too. BOS went 1-3 against DET this year without Tatum, with a 1-point loss mixed in and basically every game was single digits.
Idk, they still just strike me as a team that's a bit inexperienced. It's why I feel NY/CLE/BOS have better odds to win the East. Any of the 4 could, but I lean those 3 more than DET since NY/CLE/BOS have been there more often and have guys who have made many playoff runs.
They are definitely trending in the right direction with the coach, Cade and a physical group.