It’s been a minute since I could definitively say I’ve seen the Detroit Pistons play a great basketball game on both ends of the floor. That is partly due to the incredibly high standard the team has set for itself this year. But you can also mix in some wins against marginal competition, some wins against better competition with a heavy dose of luck, and some straight up losses. They aren’t playing their best as they face the San Antonio Spurs once again. It was the previous game against the Spurs where
you can say this mini-swoon began (as much as you can ever call winning three of five, including wins against the Thunder and Cavs a swoon). The Pistons were outplayed easily on both ends of the floor in that game, and Detroit’s lack of shooting stood in stark contrast to a Spurs team firing on all cylinders. Following a loss to the aforementioned Cavs, the Pistons are looking to avoid what would be just their third two-game losing streak of the season. Note: They have yet to have a three-game losing streak. To beat the Spurs, Detroit needs to shoot the ball better and force the Spurs, also a bad shooting team, to shoot much worse than their previous matchup. In that game, the Spurs made 18 threes and 45% of their attempts. Mind you, on the season, the Spurs are shooting 35% from deep compared to Detroit’s 34%.
Game Vitals
When: 8:00 PM
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons +3.5
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (45-15)
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
San Antonio Spurs (44-17)
DeAaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Victor Webmanyama
