This is officially the doggiest of dog days. The Detroit Pistons face a bad Washington Wizards team that is also out most of its impactful players — Anthony Davis is out, of course, but so is Trae Young, veteran D’Angelo Russell, and a sliver of its young core in Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and Cam Whitmore. Detroit will again be without Isaiah Stewart, who is likely to miss at least the next week with a left calf strain. It will also be the second game back for Ausar Thompson, who looked
rusty in a loss to the Toronto Raptors after a five-game absence. There isn’t much to say about a game like this other than that perhaps it will be interesting to monitor the rotation. Caris LeVert is given so much and provides so little. Will there continue to be baby steps forward for Kevin Huerter? Will it be another DNP-CD for the struggling Daniss Jenkins? How much more does Marcus Sasser to solidify himself a spot in the rotation? Is there enough talent around Ron Holland to let him do all the dirty work? This is also Detroit’s first game against the Wizards since a disheartening 126-117 loss on Feb. 5. And it is the first of two straight in D.C. I’m imagining Detroit will want to put this game away early. Can they actually do it?
Game Vitals
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -19.5
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (48-19)
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Washington Wizards (16-51)
Bub Carrington, Tre Johnson, Will Riley, Justin Champagnie, Julian Reese
