Pistons look to start a new winning streak against struggling Raptors
The Detroit Pistons had no juice on the second night of a back-to-back in a loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The loss ended a five-game winning streak. Now, the team is looking to get a new streak started against the 8-30 Toronto Raptors .
While the Raptors are among the league’s worst record-wise, they do have some talent and have the ability to put up a fight. In Thursday’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers , they were able to go mostly punch for punch before falling 132-126. That was thanks to a near triple-double from their star Scottie Barnes. Barnes joins Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner, and Alperen Sengun as probably the biggest jewels from what looks to be an extremely stacked 2021 draft class. That draft also includes Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Kuminga, Trey Murphy, Jalen Johnson, Cam Thomas, and Herb Jones.
The Pistons will need to be well-rested to keep up with the Raptors, who are a young team that wants to get out and run and crash into the paint. They rank fifth in fastbreak points per game (17.5) and third in points in the paint (54.3). They give as much as they get, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this game is full of runs on both sides.
Game Vitals
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -4.5
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (19-19)
Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Toronto Raptors (8-30)
Isaiah Quickley, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl