The Detroit Pistons open the season tonight at Little Caesars Arena. They have a new head coach in JB Bickerstaff. A new president of basketball operations: Trajan Langdon. They have added veterans to their young roster, and yet in the middle is what matters most. Cade Cunningham, the former No. 1 overall pick.

“It means a lot to me, man,” Cunningham said of what it means to be the face of the Detroit Pistons. “It’s a great honor for me, a great honor for my family. I know how much this team means to the city, and as far as the organization’s confidence in being the guy, it means a lot to me and me.” Don’t take this lightly.

Bickerstaff comes with a more open policy and has a young group that has a few years of experience playing together. However, this reconstruction has taken far too long for most people in this city. Bickerstaff must manage the difficult balance of repairing the situation in both the short and long term.

“I try not to pay attention to it,” Bickerstaff said of the fan base’s pressure to be good right away. “We know that the team sticks together on the field. If we play stylistically the way we want to play, the fans will embrace this team. We want to play in a way that people can appreciate and respect. Every day we want to dive in. “On the floor we take responsibility, we want to do the difficult things, the stubborn things and we know that when we play like that, people will embrace us.”

The Pistons face the Indiana Pacers tonight. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m