The Raptors have had the injury bug hit them early this season while the Pistons are experiencing it right now.
One of these days I will start this preview talking about how the Pistons are coming off a blowout win a couple days ago that didn’t raise every fan’s blood pressure up a few notches. However, this is not one of those days as the Pistons are coming off a heart-breaking Overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks .
The Pistons controlled the game for most of the game, but Ron Holland couldn’t hit a free throw when gifted a foul at the end of regulation and the Bucks used their experience and an insane night by Giannis Antetokounmpo to keep the Pistons from getting to a game within .500.
Luckily, the Raptors are not as good as the Bucks and are also missing a few players. The Pistons have been better this season, they are in no position to call this an “easy” win even though they are favored on the road. This is also an NBA Cup group game, so the Pistons have a chance to put themselves into a solid position with a 2-0 start in group play.
Game Vitals
Where: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON
When: Friday, November 15 at 7 pm EST
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons (-1.5)
Analysis
The Raptors will be without Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and Bruce Brown while the Pistons will probably be without Tim Hardaway Jr and Simone Fontecchio, who are both listed as doubtful. Jaden Ivey may be back, as he is questionable for this game after missing Wednesday’s game with a toe injury.
If Ivey does play, that will be a huge difference-maker for the Pistons, who sorely missed having somebody to take on some of the offensive load against the Bucks on Wednesday.
For the Raptors, it has been a breakout season for 2nd-year guard Gradey Dick, who is 2nd on the team in scoring at 20.1 points per game. Part of his leap is due to the Raptors missing a few other rotation players that can take on some of the scoring load, but he has gotten better at drawing fouls. He can obviously shoot the ball, but he is currently shooting 4.3 free throws per game at 88% and is coming off a 16 free throw attempt game against the Bucks on Tuesday.
Outside of Dick, the only other major scoring threat for the Raptors is RJ Barrett, who is leading the team in scoring. Since being traded to the Raptors in the OG Anunoby deal last season, Barrett has started to put things together and taken on more of a role as a distributor. He is only shooting 31.9% from beyond the arc this season, but shot 39% last year with the Raptors after the trade. He is up to 5.7 assists per game this season, which shows the jump he has made as a distributor.
This is definitely not a game the Pistons can overlook. Although they are only 2-10, the Raptors have played some close games in November just like the Pistons. They have 2 point losses to the Clippers and Nuggets as well as a 6 point loss to the Lakers and an OT win over the Sacramento Kings. The Raptors have proven to be a scrappy team despite missing so many rotation players, which could cause problems for an equally scrappy Pistons team.
Even though they have played some close games, the Raptors last two games have been blowout losses to the Lakers and Bucks, respectively. With the Pistons likely missing a couple of rotation players and possibly a third if Ivey cannot play, I would expect this to be yet another close game despite having those blowout losses.
The Pistons do still have some glaring flaws, like bad turnovers, but they have been able to play some close games against good teams. The real test on if this team is ready to compete for the play-in or fall down the standings is winning games like this. It is rare for a team like the Pistons to be favored on the road while being short-handed, but the Raptors are even more short-handed so it makes sense. Now is the time to play a complete game from beginning to end and give the fans a break from the stress of constant close games.
Lineups
Detroit Pistons (5-8): Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ron Holland, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Toronto Raptors (2-10): Davion Mitchell, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl
Question of the Day
The Pistons start a pretty favorable part of their schedule tonight, what will be their record over the next 6 games?