We’re not even 10 games into the season and Detroit Pistons fans have experienced a roller coaster of emotions through six games.
They were a good defensive team. Then a bad one.
Cade was great. Then he wasn’t.
Killian Hayes couldn’t shoot. Then he still couldn’t.
Jaden Ivey wasn’t playing enough. Then he still wasn’t.
You get it. You’ve lived it.
That’s what makes today’s game interesting. The opponent is the Phoenix Suns — a franchise that Pistons coach Monty Williams is familiar with — and Detroit is coming off its two worst performances of the season.
On the other side, Phoenix has lost three-straight games.
Somebody will snap their streak today. Let’s get into it.
Game Vitals
Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
When: Sunday, November 5 at 3 pm EST
Watch: Bally Sports Detroit (good luck to those of us with that app )
Odds: Pistons (+5.5)
Analysis
Part of me wants to tell you this is a get-right spot for the Pistons.
If they were a good team, it might be.
Phoenix comes to town on fumes. They played on Saturday — losing in Philly — and might be without both Devin Booker and (likely) Bradley Beal. However, the Pistons are a mess right now… so I don’t think it’s going to matter.
Kevin Durant is going to play, and he’s freaking good. I was at the game in 2021 when he dropped 51 points at LCA. It was magical. Something I’ll tell my daughter about some day.
I don’t think he’ll do that today, mostly because I dunno if he’ll need to with the way Detroit is playing. The Pistons aren’t outmatched from a talent perspective, they’re just playing such stupid basketball right now.
Phoenix mirrors a lot of that, but again, they have Kevin Durant.
The game features two of the best rebounding teams and two of the most careless teams in the NBA. The Pistons lead the league at 18 turnovers per game, while Phoenix is a few spots back at 14 turnovers per game. If Detroit re-discovers the defensive intensity it showed earlier this year, the Suns will give them chances to score off turnovers.
What should scare you here is the 3-point line.
The Pistons are obviously a team with spacing issues offensively, but on the other end of the floor, they’ve struggled defending the 3-point line.
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