It can not be understated how incredible the Detroit Pistons’ turnaround has been in a year’s time, and their sights are on the NBA playoffs.
Cade Cunningham and the young run-and-gun Pistons are taking the NBA by storm. They’re one of the best watches on television, and as a team entering the season, nobody saw the Pistons as a playoff team. Now one of the hottest teams in the league, they’re playing with house money and are currently cemented in the playoff race, and possibly more.
With 16 games left in the regular season, the Pistons are 37-29 and in a three-way tie with Central Division rivals the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers, both of whom have a 36-28 record. After the Bucks fell to the Pacers on a game-winner, Indiana holds the fourth seed, Milwaukee the fifth, and the Pistons are at the 6th after tiebreakers. Though many believe either Indiana or Milwaukee will take the 4th and final 1st round home-field advantage, Detroit has a real chance to take it.
Detroit, of the three teams, has the hardest remaining strength of schedule, including three against the league best Cleveland Cavaliers and the Western Conference best Oklahoma City Thunder. Aside from these two, Detroit will play lowly teams such as the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards, as well as playing several teams they’ve already beaten. In fact, the remaining schedules for the other two are also in line for multiple games against the Thunder and Cavs. This schedule overlap is important because with the virtual tie, every win matters.
In line with this, the Pistons have a major opportunity to build a massive lead over the next two weeks. Aside from their Saturday, March 15th game hosting the Thunder, they have six winnable games against either tanking teams or league bottom-feeders. While this sounds trivial, any bit of separation a team could get could prove insurmountable as the season draws to a close.
Most of all, momentum is clearly on the side of the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have been on fire since the New Year, including going 8-3 since the All-Star Break. When a team is firing on all cylinders, it’s hard to stop them record-wise. The Pistons take their knocks, and then they recaliberate and win. As the team looks to build their record further, this discipline and momentum will carry them far in the playoffs and will help cement them with home-court advantage in round one.
The Pistons, as well as the Bucks and the Pacers, understand that every game from now on is a must-win if they want to start the post-season at home. The Bucks have the talented duo, the Pacers have the total roster, but the Pistons have momentum and hunger. The Pistons are no title contender, but they will make every team in the East sweat on the way to the playoffs and could host their first series.
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