The Detroit Pistons stay on the west coast, aiming to bring the brooms out in the Intuit Dome
Coming off their high-flying dunkathon dub over the Utah Jazz , the Detroit Pistons stay on the West Coast to challenge the Los Angeles Clippers. Last night, the Clippers dropped a razor-thin one to the Phoenix Suns . The Clippers blew a 23-point lead. That’s their third loss in a row, and they find themselves in the play-in bracket in a brutal Western Conference.
In the Pistons-Clippers matchup on Feb. 24, Detroit edged out LA, but the Clippers didn’t have Kawhi Leonard and 24 PPG Norman Powell. Both remain out of the lineup. Powell is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Kawhi is taking the night off for rest purposes. These Pistons aren’t an ideal team to rest against when you’re in the thick of a playoff race.
Game Vitals
When: 10:30 pm E.T.
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -4.5
Analysis
Tobias Harris is out tonight against his former team. I’m truly hoping all is well there. Beef Stew is probable. He’ll be needed tonight, as Ivica Zubac hasn’t been a man to take lightly and been a season-long bright spot for the Clippers, as usual.
While James Harden and Norman Powell (who should be the MIP favorite if he qualified) get the majority of the credit for stabilizing the Clippers with Kawhi in and out of the lineup, Zubac has been more than a steady force.
The No. 3 defense starts with him; Zubac is the anchor dragging opposing offenses to no return. Per PBP stats, Zubac has defended the 4th most shots at the cup. Here’s how he ranks compared to his contemporaries
Player Def Rim FGA Def Rim FG%
B.Lopez 427 57%
A.Sengun 393 59.8%
M. Turner 390 58.9%
I.Zubac 385 55%
N.Jokic 368 69%
Other players allow lower percentages at the rim but don’t challenge shots as often as Zu. Beef Stew is one of those guys.
He’s holding scorers to a make-you-double-check 46% on 227 defensive rim FGA. Stew is otherworldly on that end. His defensive brilliance and tenacity should be the national talking point around him. Detroit’s defense as a whole will present many challenges for the undermanned Clippers tonight.
Harden will feel Ausar Thompson’s screen navigation and ball pressure again. Jalen Duren has been “baby Dwight ,” snagging shots in the air and igniting fast breaks . Ron Holland will bring his infectious energy right outside LA, and Cade Cunningham’s off-ball defense helps any award case he’s in the running for.
These Pistons strangled Utah Monday to a 98.1 offensive rating. Those same Jazz had a 113.9 offensive rating in their previous five games. Sure, this team is in the Copper Flagg hunt, but the Pistons made them look like they belong in the NCAA March Madness tournament as a Cinderella hopeful 14th seed.
On the Clippers front, Zubac has also been steady on offense, and Harden is still a PnR maestro capable of carving up most coverages. They’re currently sitting in the 9th seed with very similar records to the Warriors/Wolves/Kings/Mavs (get well soon, Kyrie, but Dallas may collapse). Kris Dunn is the Clippers’ version of Ausar. He’s an on-ball pest who looks to fluster Cade tonight.
They need to squeak out games for the rest of the way. Unfortunately for the Clippers, these Detroit Pistons aren’t the little brothers you can smack around on your bad days any longer.
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (35-27)
Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren
LA Clippers (32-29)
James Harden, Kris Dunn, Bogdan Bogdanović, Derrick Jones Jr. (day-today), Ivica Zubac
Question (ranking) of the Day
Rank these teams from who you’d welcome in the 1st round to who you want the Pistons to face the least.
- Knicks
- Bucks
- Pacers