Listen up, Detroit. It is Thursday, October 8, 2026, and the smell of hardwood is back in the air. The Pistons are sitting at 1-0, and while some folks are busy watching exhibition basketball, we know the only thing that matters is how we stack up when the games actually count. This season is live, and we have 82 games of pure grit ahead of us. Yesterday, October 7, we saw some preseason exhibition action across the league, like Indiana taking down Minnesota 123-112 and Orlando edging Memphis 122-118, but that is just noise. Real champions are forged in the trenches of the regular season, not in these meaningless preseason tune-ups scheduled for tonight. My Pistons are focused, hungry, and ready to prove that the Motor City is still the heartbeat of the NBA. We aren't worried about who else is playing or what the exhibition scores look like. We are worried about establishing our identity. The league might be messing around with these preseason exhibitions today, but we know the championship road goes through Detroit. Keep your eyes locked on the prize, because this season is just getting started and we are coming for everything.