Pistons vs Heat preview: Kick off 2026 with a bang

SB Nation

The Detroit Pistons return home after going 3-2 on a successful West Coast road trip. Topping the Los Angeles Lakers with ease on national TV was a nice way to end the trip.

Detroit kicks off 2026 with

a familiar foe in the Miami Heat. These teams have traded game winners over the last few years. This is a matchup between two coaches who squeeze the most out of the talent in their roster.

The Pistons and Heat are dealing with injuries, but the Heat play a different brand of ball with their star out. Miami loves to get up and down just as much as Detroit (even more).

These are the 2nd and 3rd-ranked defenses, but don’t be surprised if a lot of buckets are put up each way. Pace may be the name of the game in this one.

Game vitals

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan

How: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit

Odds: Pistons -5

Analysis

Both the Pistons and Heat drag you into deep waters and make you play their brand of basketball. The Pistons suffocate you and take advantage of the turnovers they create. The Pistons are the third-best team scoring off opponents’ turnovers.

These Heat do the same thing but play even faster across the board. Not only are the Heat fourth in points off turnovers, but they also play with the fastest pace. That hasn’t equaled a *great* offense, but the Heat get so many scoring opportunities because they don’t stop. They never stop running, driving, and looking for outlet passes.

Their lone All-Star last year, Tyler Herro, is out of the lineup with a toe injury, but the Heat offense hasn’t missed a beat. They’ve scored 125 points or more in four of the last five games. Granted, none of those defenses were as special as Detroit’s.

The script is out on the Heat. They drive a ton, don’t set on-ball screens, and are looking to drive and kick. The Pistons’ elite on-ball defenders and scramble defense can offset the Heat’s attack.

It won’t be a simple task for Norman Powell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. to consistently get by the likes of Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland, and even Jaden Ivey. No blow-bys equals a stagnant Heat offense. Those guys have to step up with Tobias Harris doubtful.

Ivey’s play over the road trip was encouraging. He shot the leather off the ball (64% on 2.8 3PA). That volume has to go up, but the shotmaking remains steady like last season. Off-ball shooting, drawing and attacking closeouts, and off-ball defensive awareness are the skills that will make Ivey the long-term 2 in Detroit.

His backcourt mate has dominated the Heat. Cade Cunningham is averaging a near triple-double in the last three matchups, and his game-winner over Bam Adebayo is arguably No. 1 on his career highlights so far.

Andrew Wiggins is a sturdy defender who will take that matchup, but look for Miami to run some zone. The combination of the Pistons’ shooting (35% on 3s, 21st) and Miami’s tendency to go zone means we’ll probably see that sprinkled in tonight.

The battle of the bigs is an intriguing matchup. Jalen Duren and Adebayo could be the bigs who represent America in the 2028 Olympics, along with Chet Holmgren. Both Duren and Adebayo are undersized centers height-wise who make up for it with top-level athleticism and Hulk builds.

Duren is All-Star bound, Adebayo is not. Adebayo will probably finish top five in DPOY voting, but you want more scoring from a guy who will be making over $50M in 2027.

Kel’el Ware becoming more of a vocal point takes the spotlight off Adebayo’s scoring woes. Ware has work to do as a rim protector (discipline, not chasing blocks), but you cannot leave him open. Ware is shooting 47 percent on three 3-point attempts. He’s been a sniper at that size.

Erik Spoelstra built momentum to obtain his first coach of the year award with the Heat’s quick start, but JB Bickerstaff is all over that now.

COY is basically the “hey, I didn’t think your team would be that good” award, and nobody fits that bill more than Bickerstaff. How these great coaches counter each other’s schemes today should be brilliant.