Detroit is riding high after snapping its 15-game playoff losing streak against the New York Knicks on Monday … but former Piston Ben Wallace tells TMZ Sports the current squad isn’t a bunch of “Bad Boys” — they’ve earned their own identity!!

We caught up with Big Ben out at LAX on Tuesday … and while he knows there’s a ton of basketball left, he believes his old team can pull off the first-round upset with the series tied at 1-1.

“The guy’s been playing well,” he said. “The guy’s playing hard, playing together. We’re gonna go out there and just see what happens. I think the guys are excited about being out there, being able to be back in the playoffs. We know anytime getting to the playoffs, anything’s possible.”

“I think what they have earned, they’ve earned their own identity. Guys just going out there, playing hard, leaving it all on the line. You go out and play like that, you earn your own identity then you can call yourself whoever you want.”

He credits the job J.B. Bickerstaff has done since joining the franchise … and his name definitely deserved to be in consideration for coach of the year.

“I just think once you get guys going out playing hard everything happened good for the entire organization,” he said. “Not just the players, but the coaches and everybody else.”

Not only is Wallace enjoying the team’s run, but he’s also loving seeing the city pumped up about basketball again after years of misery.

“I think it’s going to give us a chance to see the city get behind the team and rally behind the team,” Wallace said. “I think for the first time that the city is really excited about Pistons basketball again. That’s what it’s all about.”

John Cena is celebrating his 48th trip around the sun, and while the WWE Superstar claims you can’t see him … we were able to dig up some of the best wrestling shots to celebrate his birthday — and you can undoubtedly see the impressive physique on the future Hall of Famer.

Cena is proving that age is just a number, as he’s been aging like fine wine. His 17th World Title win at WrestleMania 41 pushed him in front of Ric Flair for the most in WWE history.

Cena said on Monday Night Raw that he has 27 more dates left in his WWE retirement tour, so while the sun is setting on his in-ring career, there are still eight more months for fans to enjoy King of Jorts to make some more history.

9:57 AM PT — Shelly, Sophie Nyweide’s mom, tells TMZ … “We are very distraught and mourning. All I can say is her time acting was brief but very happy. She wasn’t a child star in the least and wasn’t subjected to anything hurtful on those films. She was always safe on those sets. Please let her rest in peace now.

“My knowledge is she was using drugs and was a tiny young woman. She was with other people when she died. I didn’t know them. There is an investigation ongoing. The autopsy results are not in. They said it would take 6-8 weeks. So I can’t say definitively.”

Actress Sophie Nyweide — famous for her roles in “Mammoth” and “An Invisible Sign” — is dead.

Sophie died April 14 in Bennington, VT … according to her family. The cause of death is unclear.

In an obituary, Sophie’s family hints at what led to her early death, saying … “Sophie was a kind and trusting girl. Often this left her open to being taken advantage of by others. She wrote and drew voraciously, and much of this art depicts the depth she had, and it also represents the pain she suffered. Many of her writings and artwork are roadmaps of her struggles and traumas.”

They continue … “Even with those roadmaps, diagnoses and her own revelations, those closest to her, plus therapists, law enforcement officers and others who tried to help her, are heartbroken their efforts couldn’t save her from her fate. She self-medicated to deal with all the trauma and shame she held inside, and it resulted in her death. She repeatedly said she would ‘handle it’ on her own and was compelled to reject the treatment that might possibly have saved her life.”

Sophie appeared in 7 films before her 11th birthday … including “Noah,” “Bella,” “Margot at the Wedding,” and “Shadows & Lies.” She also had gigs on TV shows like “Law & Order” and “What Would You Do?”

Her family is remembering her as “creative, athletic and wise beyond her years … She dreamed (more like demanded!) to be an actor, without ever knowing her mother was an actor, so she did that too with an ease we all marveled about. She seemed happiest on a movie set, becoming someone else.”

Sophie was 24.