Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns clash in quest for fourth win

Mar 27, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) and Phoenix Suns forward Marcus Morris (15) talk during a timeout against the Portland Trail Blazers at US Airways Center. The Trail Blazers won the game 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) and Phoenix Suns forward Marcus Morris (15) talk during a timeout against the Portland Trail Blazers at US Airways Center. The Trail Blazers won the game 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Detroit Pistons suffered a nasty loss to the formerly winless Indiana Pacers in their last outing, breaking up their first season-opening win streak in years. But, at 3-1, the Pistons are still ahead of where most reasonable projections would have put them to this point.

Next up, the Pistons travel to Phoenix to take on the 3-2 Suns. Detroit is generally considered about a 4.5 point underdog, which is probably mostly an artifact of being the slightly worse team last year. In Andre Drummond, though, the Pistons should have the best player on the floor. And the top to bottom talent on both rosters looks comparable although I’d give the Piston the slight edge there. The Suns should still be a small favorite on account of being the home team, but this is a highly winnable team. Let’s see if the Pistons can take advantage.

There are a bunch of story lines to watch for tonight:

Marcus and Markieff Morris face off for just the second time ever in a formal basketball game. Last time, they were both rookies. Marcus got two points and a steal on 1-3 shooting in 11 minutes. Markieff got four points, four rebounds, an assist, a block, and two turnovers on 2-6 shooting in 17 minutes. And his Suns came up with the win over Marcus’ Rockets. Both players are a lot better today than they were then. This matchup  may be a lot more relevant to determining the game’s outcome this time around.

Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock return to the team that traded them in a straight up salary dump. Do they have some sort of resentment or chip on their shoulders for this one?

At 20.25 points, 19.5 rebounds, and 1.75 blocks per game, can Andre Drummond continue his rampage as the league’s most statistically ridiculous center so far this season?

Brandon Knight was a Pistons draft pick who it appears Detroit may have given up on too soon (even though he’s probably not haunting them as much as Middleton). If he plays really well, that may cause additional consternation to Pistons’ fans.

Speaking of Knight, his contract (along with Dragic’s) was one of those most directly comparable this offseason to Reggie Jackson’s. Their relative calibers of play will probably continue to be used as measuring sticks of how good those contracts were.

Knight, Jackson, and Eric Bledsoe may have a bit of a competition of point guards who are good players but have yet to definitively show that they are particularly good point guards.

While Stanley Johnson’s selection in the 2015 NBA draft immediately made countless followers of the NBA question why he was taken over Justise Winslow, Stan Van Gundy claimed that the player he was really weighing Johnson against was Devin Booker. He may get a chance to see a little bit more of his Plan B in this one. But don’t bank on it; since the Suns’ first game, Booker has only seen the floor at all in two of the four ensuing contests–and for a total of fewer than eight and a half minutes.

Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup:
Reggie Jackson
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Marcus Morris
Ersan Ilyasova
Andre Drummond

Phoenix Suns’ starting lineup:
Brandon Knight
Eric Bledsoe
P.J. Tucker
Markieff Morris
Tyson Chandler

Next: Detroit Pistons will try to leave a starter in at all times

More from PistonPowered