Detroit is 23 games away from the playoffs. How they finish the regular season will dictate a lot.
The Detroit Pistons are fun, entertaining and good.
Damn, it feels good, doesn’t it?
Welcome to our new reality we enter uncharted territory with the current era of Pistons’ basketball — a playoff chase. Detroit currently sits at 33-26 after a 117-97 win over the defending champion Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
They have 23 games remaining and an 4.5-game cushion on the Orlando Magic for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. That’s notable because the No. 6 seed skips past the NBA’s play-in tournament.
Hanging onto that spot is immensely important for Detroit’s playoff chances. It’s crazy that we’re saying things like this one year after the most miserable season in team history.
So, let’s dive into the remaining schedule and see where the possible wins and losses lie. I promise, this is broken out week by week and how I saw it is how it stayed. I didn’t keep a running count so it’s an honest week-by-week assessment.
For reference, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index projects the Pistons to finish 45.5-36.5.
The Remaining Schedule
Fri, Feb 28 vs Denver
Sat, Mar 1 vs Brooklyn
Analysis: The Pistons have had issues with the upper half of the NBA all season long – though they’ve now beaten the Clippers and Celtics in consecutive games. They’ve got a 10-16 record against teams with an above-.500 record, and Denver is another one. The Pistons are the hottest teams in the East and Denver is that in the West with 9 wins in their last 10. Make it 10 of their last 11 Friday, but the Pistons rebound to beat Brooklyn the next night to split the week.
Record: 1-1
Mon, Mar 3 @ Utah
Wed, Mar 5 @ L.A. Lakers
Sat, Mar 8 @ Golden State
Sun, Mar 9 @ Portland
Analysis: If there’s a moment that really foreshadowed the Pistons’ rise to relevance this season, it was their last west coast road trip back in December. Detroit went 4-1 on that trip with wins over the Suns, Lakers and Kings. This one isn’t quite as daunting, but I still think they probably split here. A win at Utah and Portland with losses to the Jimmy-infused Warriors and Luka’s Lakers.
Record: 2-2
Tue, Mar 11 vs Washington
Thu, Mar 13 vs Washington
Sat, Mar 15 vs Oklahoma City
Analysis: Washington is a lost cause, two wins there. OKC is a big dog. That’s a loss, but I’m interested to see what Detroit looks like against one of the elite defenses in the NBA.
Record: 2-1
Mon, Mar 17 @ New Orleans
Wed, Mar 19 @ Miami
Fri, Mar 21 @ Dallas
Analysis: Weird road trip here. You’ve got two of the nightlife road games with NOLA and South Beach then a trip to a Dallas team that is probably figuring itself out by late March. Pelicans have been a mess and it’s hard to predict when Zion Williamson will play. Miami is a big game for seeding purposes, but the Pistons are 2-1 against the Heat. Both wins came in OT, so I’ll say Miami gets a win after Detroit beats New Orleans. They’ll follows that with a loss at Dallas, assuming Anthony Davis is back.
Record: 1-2
Sun, Mar 23 vs New Orleans
Tue, Mar 25 vs San Antonio
Fri, Mar 28 vs Cleveland
Analysis: Another three-game week with a few winnable games clustered before a big one against a contender. I think the Pelicans is a win and the Spurs is a win, too. Wemby or not, De’Aaron Fox is still a bad man, but so is Cade. I’m gonna give the Pistons a win over the Cavs. They came oh-so-close last time, and I think a late-season matchup at an LCA that theoretically has some energy and juice is enough to finally get over the hump.
Record: 3-0
Sun, Mar 30 @ Minnesota
Wed, Apr 2 @ Oklahoma City
Fri, Apr 4 @ Toronto
Sat, Apr 5 vs Memphis
Analysis: It’s nut up or shut up time. The Pistons head into April with seven of their final eight games against postseason teams. Seeding and whatnot starts to come into play here. Minnesota wants no part of the play-in, I think that’s a tough road loss. The next three are one of Detroit’s hardest scheduling runs with the first of two three-games-in-four-nights stretches. Two days rest on the road heading into OKC is another loss as the Thunder look to lock up homecourt throughout. Toronto is probably playing for nothing, so let’s chalk up a win there and then a home game against Memphis the next night — a dreaded SEGABABA — is another loss.
Record: 1-3
Mon, Apr 7 vs Sacramento
Thu, Apr 10 vs New York
Fri, Apr 11 vs Milwaukee
Sun, Apr 13 @ Milwaukee
Analysis: IT’S THE FINAAALLLLLL COUNTDOWWWWWWN! Big stretch here to end the season. Could be two games against Milwaukee with the fifth seed on the line or one against New York serving as a playoff preview. Sacramento is hard to peg, they could be in or out of the race. I think the Suns figure their crap out and squeeze the Kings out. Detroit wins against Sacto eam they’ve beaten twice in a row. The Knicks aren’t catching Boston, and I don’t think Indiana is catching them… but Thibs isn’t one to rest starters. This is a dog fight — just like I think a first-round playoff matchup would be. I think Detroit loses to NY for the first time this season. Milwaukee is tough. The Pistons have lost 11-straight games in that series. I’ve gotta go with the team that has pedigree — and a top five player in the NBA — so Bucks take both.
Record: 1-3
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So, there you have it. The Pistons finish with an 11-12 record over their final 23 games and a 43-39 record, their best since going 44-38 in 2015-16. I hope I’m wrong and I hope they go 23-0 the rest of the way.
Either way, it’s great to have this to look forward to. Meaningful basketball in the second half of the season feels like a gift from the basketball gods after the past four seasons. The fact that we’re watching a team that is battling for more than the opportunity to be swept as the No. 8 seed is even better.
Let us know your projected record in the comments!