The Detroit Pistons will begin the season at home against the Central Division rival Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. with 81 more games to follow.
Yes, it is schedule release day. The time when you take a look at the early season competitors and cringe a bit at how quickly the hopes and dreams of a season might be dashed. You also take a look at long road trips, back-to-backs, and also pencil in games, home and away, you might be interested in attending.
If you’re interested in seeing the defending champion Boston Celtics , you can come to Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 26, or the previous year’s champs, the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 28.
The Pistons, at least for now, will also have one truly nationally televised game on ESPN against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 7. There were also be pretend national games, aka those relegated to NBA TV, and those will be broadcast Nov. 21 for a home tilt against the Charlotte Hornets and March 3 on the road facing the Utah Jazz .
The early season portion of the schedule is not particularly kind to the Pistons, with the season starting with presumptive Eastern Conference playoff teams in the Pacers, the Cavs, the Celtics, the Heat, and then the Sixers in October. That includes one of the team’s 15 back-to-backs this season.
Detroit will also have a five-games-in-a-week stretch from Nov. 12-18 against the Heat, Bucks, Raptors, Wizards, and Bulls, respectively. Their toughest road stretch of the season appears to be a gauntlet in December right after the newly christened Emirates NBA Cup in-season tournament.
The Pistons will swing to the West Coast to play the Suns, Lakers , get two days off for Christmas and then be back (or stay) on the West Coast to play the Kings and Nuggets. There is also a particularly rough stretch in March with a West Coast trip that features the Jazz, Clippers, Warriors, and Blazers, a welcome two straight at home against the Wizards, a tough home tilt against the Thunder and then back on the road to face the Pelicans, the Heat, and the Mavericks.