The Pistons square off against the Bucks twice before the end of the season with a chance to move up in the standings.
It is time to play for all the marbles as we close out the 2024-2025 regular season with two games against the Milwaukee Bucks .
I am not sure how much being the 5th seed matters to either of these teams, but both teams are expected to have pretty much their full rotation available, so I guess that tells you this at least matters a little bit to both of these teams.
Despite looking dead in the water after Damian Lillard went down with blood clots, the Bucks have managed to get things back together and have rattled off six straight wins.
The Pistons, on the other hand, have struggled a bit lately as their defense has dipped and they are not generating as many easy looks through their fast break offense. They are coming off an impressive win last night over the Knicks , but the playoffs essentially start now for the Pistons. Let’s see how they handle it.
Game Vitals
Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
When: Friday, April 11 at 7 pm EST
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons (-5.5)
Analysis
Tonight is the final game of the regular season at Little Caesars Arena, but for the first time in 6 years, it will not be the final game of the NBA season at Little Caesars Arena as the Detroit Pistons will be playing in the NBA Playoffs .
Who they play is still to be determined, but their seeding is very straight-forward. Lose either of these two games to the Bucks and the Pistons are locked into the 6th seed and will play either the New York Knicks or Indiana Pacers. Win both of these games and the Pistons clinch the 5th seed and will play either of the aforementioned teams above depending on how the rest of their seasons shake out.
However, winning two consecutive games against the Milwaukee Bucks is easier said than done for the Pistons, even if the Bucks are currently short-handed. The Pistons do not matchup well against the Bucks as evidenced by their multi-season losing streaks at over multiple periods over the last 5-6 years. Add in the fact that the Bucks are an experienced playoff team who at least have seeding purposes to play for, and you are looking at a very difficult task.
The reason for the Pistons struggles against the Bucks are pretty simple. Like a lot of teams in the league, they have nobody to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, what is actually more of a problem for the Pistons is their inability to stop Brook Lopez from hitting 30 footers on them all game. Jalen Duren has improved on the defensive end this season, but his kryptonite is stretch centers, especially ones with veteran moves like Lopez.
The playoffs will be a good test of Duren’s defense, as any of the potential playoff matchups for the Pistons all deploy starting stretch centers.
With Damian Lillard out, the Pistons can put everything into trying to slow down Giannis and Brook Lopez, but the Bucks are clearly pushing a lot of the right buttons right now with Lillard out since they have won six straight.
It is tough to shake from my head what happened the last time these two teams faced off with a trip to the knock out round of the In-Season Tournament on the line, a 21 point blowout by the Bucks that was actually worse than the final score indicates. Although it was an early-season game, the Bucks had something to play for and they put the up-and-coming Pistons in their place with their experience.
As long as the Pistons fight hard and can keep the game close, I think you can be happy with them even if they lose. A blowout loss is a bad look if you are playing at full strength a couple of games before the Playoffs get started.
The one thing the Pistons have going for them is that they have nothing to lose. Maybe the Bucks are content with coasting into the Playoffs and conserving energy. Maybe they can catch them off guard and play hard and will their way to a couple of wins. No matter what happens, the Pistons know they will be playing in the Playoffs when they start next week, but they have a couple of chances to earn a little more respect and enter the playoffs on a high-note.
Lineups
Detroit Pistons (44-36): Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway Jr, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Milwaukee Bucks (46-34): Ryan Rollins, Taurean Prince, Kyle Kuzma, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez
Question of the Day
Do you care about what seed the Pistons are or who they play in the first round or are you just happy to see playoff basketball again?