Can the Pistons move to 3-0 on their four game West Coast road trip?
There’s nothing like two middle-of-the-pack teams going at it a day after Christmas. A gift for all. These teams are eager to prove they can play on the big stage, too. The Detroit Pistons have been rolling prior to the Christmas Day slate. They’re riding a two-game winning streak over formidable foes and look to slap around another California team in the 13-17 Sacramento Kings.
Game Vitals
When: 10:00 pm ET
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons +6
Analysis
Hoping to avoid missing a fourth straight game, Iasiah Stewart is questionable to lace up tonight. Ron Holland joins him on the injury report with an illness, and he is questionable, too. Jalen Duren, who’s seen an uptick in minutes with Stew out, is probable to play as he deals with an ankle sprain.
Being without the two bigs would be massive against a team like the Kings, who have an All-Star center in Domontas Sabonis. The versatile big man puts up 21 points, 13.5 boards, and six assists on 60/41/79 splits. He’s dealing with an illness and is questionale to go tonight. The Kings lose part of their one-two punch if Sabonis is out. Paul Reed, who noticeably frustrated Anthony Davis, will be a thorn in Sabonis’ side if Sabonis does play and one of Stew or Duren doesn’t.
The other member of that duo will surely stress the defense tonight. De’Aaron Fox has been a blur since he came onto the scene in 2017 and remains one of the fastest players in the league. At 6-3, Fox routinely blows by defenders to get to the rim, where he’s shooting a wing-like 71%. Jaden Ivey, Asaur Thompson, and Holland (if he plays) need extra grip on their kicks tonight. Holland and Thompson specifically mucked up the Lakers game and helped bring that one home.
Cade Cunningham bought it on that side of the ball against LeBron and company. It’s infectious when your franchise pillar is contesting shots and making second efforts. Cade’s shot wasn’t falling against a suspect Lakers defense, so expect things to even out the 15th-ranked Kings defense with no go-to stoppers (Keegan Murray is solid, and Keon Ellis doesn’t play as much as he should).
DeMar DeRozan doesn’t help the King’s defensive infrastructure, but man, is he still a bucket. His 20 points per game have the Kings plus-1 with him on and off the court, per PBP stats. Derozan’s methodical mid-range approach hasn’t slowed down the King’s pace— they were 6th last year compared to 8th now. This very well may be a high-scoring thriller.
The Pistons offense has been slightly better than their hot-start defense. The offense hasn’t been anything to gloat about, but they’re coming off two impressive offensive performances against the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns . Ivey was steady in those two outings after he missed the two games before those. His consistency is a forever talking point, and he can put together another great performance against a Kings team that struggles to contain off-guards .
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (13-17)
Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Sacramento Kings (13-17)
De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, DeMar Derozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
Question of the day:
How should the Pistons use their cap space as the trade deadline approaches?