Philadelphia 76ers vs. Detroit Pistons Live NBA Updates, Scores and Highlights

The 76ers had probably the splashiest offseason of any team in the league. And new additions LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are definitely helping.

But Tyrese Maxey is undoubtedly the biggest reason Philadelphia is 7-1.

He has around 86 percent of the team's total value over replacement player, is averaging 29.1 points and 5.3 assists and has been one of the league's more efficient volume scorers this season.

Detroit has a lot of big, tenacious defenders to throw his way on the perimeter, but the best they can hope to do is slow Maxey down.

Detroit was widely regarded as a team due for a regression in 2026-27. But even without Jalen Duren for all but two games, the downturn simply hasn't come.

The defense is the biggest reason why. The Pistons are giving up the fewest points per 100 possessions of any team in the league, and tenacious perimeter defenders like Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland and Cade Cunningham are a big reason why.

Detroit's ability to stymie opposing offenses before they even break the three-point line has been huge. And Cunningham is engineering enough offense on the other end to give the Pistons one of the best point differentials in the league.

The All-NBA creator is averaging 23.7 points and 7.1 assists. And for the first time in his career, he's on track for above-average scoring efficiency.