The Detroit Pistons vs The Wild West
The statistics put the Detroit Pistons up there in the Eastern Conference, but do they stand a chance against the juggernauts of the West?
The Detroit Pistons find themselves sitting atop the eastern conference rankings. They have been winning consistently, and one could even say that if a team from the eastern conference wins the chip, it would most likely be this team.
They have one of the league’s best players in Cade Cunningham. They also have a pretty solid, scrappy, young supporting cast who plays defense like they’re the ‘89 or the early 2000s Detroit. Intense, blue collar, motor-city core basketball.
How have they fared against the other top teams in the same conference? Pretty well.
They beat the New York Knicks three times out of their three contests, by an average margin of 28. They beat the Boston Celtics (rank #3 in the eastern conference) 4 times this season–solidifying the case that the Celtics would not be able to beat them without Jayson Tatum. They beat their division rival Cleveland Cavaliers 2 times out of 3.
The Pistons seem to be a shoo-in to win the eastern conference. The question right now is, could they even compete against the western conference teams?
Surprisingly, the Pistons (43-14) are not that far-off from the defending champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder (45-15). The Pistons also beat the Thunder this week, but it is worth noting that OKC was missing a lot of its key players.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs beat the Pistons in their sole match up thus far, but it was a close game. The Pistons, like any other team, have to figure out how to stop Wemby and the quick guards of San Antonio.
Detroit has won two nailbiters against Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, and split the series 1-1 against the Kevin Durant-led Houston Rockets. It seems that the young Pistons squad matches up well against Durant and the young Rockets players.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, sharing identical season records with the Nuggets and the Rockets, lost their sole match-up against Detroit this season.
The playoffs are certainly a different animal, but judging by how the Pistons played against the league’s strongest teams, they actually are in for a late postseason run.
It will definitely be a fun thing to see–Detroit in the finals, possibly winning it all.
DAILY FANTASY PICKS:
Captain: Cade Cunningham
Vice Captain: Jalen Duren
Key picks: Tobias Harris, Ausar Thompson, Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Stewart
You may use the suggested picks to play Daily Fantasy now! Here’s how to get you started.
Here are the matches this week!
