At 4th in the Eastern Conference as we stand, Detroit might be much lower come Christmas time.
Pistons Blown Out Back-To-Back
Coming off a five game winning streak and taking seven of their last eight games, Detroit has followed up that extremely hot play with back-to-back double digit losses. The Pistons had beaten The Rockets, The Raptors(which was an emotional night for Coach Dwayne Casey), and finishing up with a 111-102 win against the defending champions. Granted, the win came against a short handed Golden State squad, but the only loss over the eight games was to Houston. They played Houston well during a home-and-home, losing a very tough game 126-124.
The next game proved to be a booster (for a short time at least), as they took down a good Rockets team 116-111 in overtime. Well, all good things must end as is almost always the case. Detroit fell back to earth against a damn good Oklahoma City Thunder, losing 110-83. The loss wasn’t the major problem here, the lack of energy is not a good look coming in with a five game winning streak. Detroit was out of the contest almost immediately after the 2nd half started, allowing a 37 point outburst that salted the game away with ease. The Thunder only played Westbrook 29 minutes.
On the 2nd half of the back-to-back Detroit drew a match up against the much improved Milwaukee Greeks, or Bucks whatever. Detroit lost by double digits again, only mustering up 92 points. This isn’t 1988, the Bad Boys could win with 90 point This team cannot. Final score was a slight improvement actually, only losing by 23 against the Bucks. Antetokounmpo only on the court for 26 minutes, another night with Detroit losing without much of a fight. Blake Griffin showed up against the Bucks, however he was just about the only Pistons player who didn’t look like they belonged with the Grand Rapids Drive (Pistons G League Affiliate). Detroit needs other players to play better, Drummond has had horrible outings the last two games. That needs to change for The Pistons to have any kind of sustained success this season.
Upcoming Gauntlet For Detroit
As if the runner-runner embarrassments weren’t enough, the schedule for Detroit is about to be on a ridiculous level. If it were NBA 2K simulations it wouldn’t quite be on Hall Of Fame difficulty with the run they have coming up, but it’s sure as hell going to seem like it at times. Lets run down the match ups Detroit has coming up sitting at 13-9 .
Upcoming Schedule
• Friday 12/7, VS Philadelphia 76ers (17-8)
• Sunday 12/9 VS New Orleans Pelicans (13-13)
• Monday 12/10 @Philadelphia 76ers (17-8)
• Wednesday 12/12 @ Charlotte Hornets (11-13)
• Saturday 12/15 VS Boston Celtics (13-10)
• Monday 12/17 VS Milwaukee Bucks (16-7)
• Wednesday 12/19 @ Minnesota Timberwolves (13-12)
• Friday 12/21 @ Charlotte Hornets (11-13)
Yikkkes! Four games are at home, which on the surface would make the run of games more tolerable. However, three games at home are against top tier opponents in the East – Boston, Philly, and another run at the Bucks. Not exactly what you want on the menu at home, even the fourth home game is no cakewalk. If your best shot at a home win during the next four contests is the New Orleans Pelicans, you’ve got a tough stretch. The road games aren’t nearly as daunting, but they too will prove difficult tests for the Pistons.
The two road contests against Charlotte are easily the games Detroit has the best chances at winning. The Hornets are in the playoff picture, and Kemba goes off more often than not, so to say these are in the win column would be false. They can’t walk over any of the teams on the upcoming schedule, with the other two contests against a Minnesota team light years from where it began the season and the Milwaukee Bucks. You know, the Bucks that just thrashed the Pistons by 23 points without hardly breaking a light sweat you might get on a brisk jog in the Michigan winter.
I doubt whole heartedly that Detroit will drop the next eight games. A stretch of 2-6 is not out of the question. Couple that with the two blow out losses they are coming off, make it a 2-8 stretch over the last ten when we get to Christmas time possibly. That’s a massive drop-off from a team in the upper half of the eastern conference almost a quarter of the way into the season. Truth is Detroit hasn’t had the toughest schedule this season, not easy by any means, but its very possible we will get to know the real Pistons team after this run of games.
The first two were not a good sign for the hopes of Detroit fighting for a top four spot( and at least one home advantage playoff series). If this team wants to compete, the front office needs to adjust the team on the fly. A better start than anyone could have asked for may be undone by a string of games nobody would be envious of, the Pistons faithful are hoping Detroit can get rolling again against the 76ers Friday night at home. The opening home game could set the tone for the rest of the eight game gauntlet(okay maybe a bit dramatic, but its tough). The position Detroit is in could be very different when we reach the holiday season at the end of December, that can be good, but it can definitely leave Detroit closer to the 9th seed than the current spot they maintain as of now(4th in the conference, 6.0 GB of 1st).
