NBA scheduling details are starting to trickle out, and it looks like the Detroit Pistons will be kicking off the season in a big way — by playing in the first game of the season league-wide as part of an opening night triple-header.
Detroit is set to face off against the Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference showdown on Oct. 20 at NBC, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
That will be followed up by two primetime games — the Philadelphia 76ers vs. the New York Knicks, aka LeBron, Jaylen Brown, and
the new-look Sixers against the reigning NBA champions. Finally, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will face off to try and set the standard of who will rule the Western Conference.
There is no official start time as of yet, but it’d likely to start between 3-5 p.m. so set your work schedules accordingly.
The Pistons starting the season is quite the glow-up after having the NBA’s worst record just one year ago. Detroit is coming off of a 60-win season and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Cade Cunningham will get an opportunity to show a huge NBA audience thirsty for real basketball that he’s one of the 5-10 best players in the league, and that his team has no intention of taking a step back.
That might be news to many NBA watchers, as Detroit’s offseason has not been looked upon fondly while other teams in the East like the Sixers, Heat, Raptors, Hawks, and Celtics are making major moves, and the Knicks, Cavs, Magic, and Hornets are looking to build on last season’s varying levels of success.
But what will hopefully be readily apparent to everyone involved is that surrounding a great player with shooting makes him even better. As good as the Pistons were last season, they didn’t quite have that. They had Duncan Robinson, one of the league’s best marksmen, and he returns. But they’ve doubled down on that with the addition of Isaiah Joe, who isn’t far behind Robinson in skill level. They’ve also added John Collins, who can attack the rim and nail shots from the perimeter at a high level.
It will also be a chance for Ausar Thompson to take his next step toward being a star player, which is the trajectory I think he is destined for. Already probably the league’s best perimeter defender, he isn’t near his ceiling, and he continues to put in the work to try and to turn his offensive repertoire into something that consistently helps his team.
Will Jalen Duren be back? Likely. Catching lobs, slamming putbacks, and having a sneaky level of finesse and footwork to dominate down low. It’s the ingredients for a fun basketball team. The ingredients for a winning basketball team. And I’m glad the NBA will get to see it right off the bat.
