Coming off a 5-0 homestand, the Detroit Pistons (10-3) start a three-game road trip with a Wednesday night matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks (7-6).
The Detroit Pistons (10-3), winners of five games in a row and eight of their last nine, visit the Milwaukee Bucks (7-6) on Wednesday night. While too early to say how “real” Detroit’s start is, they’ve been on a roll and getting contributions from top to bottom.
The result, so far, is a team in second place in the Eastern Conference that ranks in the top ten in offensive rating, defensive rating, and net rating. Golden State is the only other team that can claim as much.
The Pistons and Bucks last met only 12 days ago, in a game Detroit took 105-96, but that was before Milwaukee acquired Eric Bledsoe for Greg Monroe and draft picks from the Phoenix Suns.
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Milwaukee is 3-0 since inserting Bledsoe into their starting lineup, with respectable wins over San Antonio and Memphis, but this team’s success starts and ends with the ascending Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, 22, is averaging 31.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 58.2 percent from the field this season. He’s a special player that’s going to be in the MVP conversation at year’s end. Bledsoe and Antetokounmpo are joined by Khris Middleton, Tony Snell, and John Henson in the starting lineup.
In the November 3 game between these two, Detroit “held” Antetokounmpo to 29 points on under 50 percent shooting, but tenacious Stanley Johnson defense had a lot to do with that. Johnson’s missed the last three games with a hip flexor injury, but practiced fully on Tuesday and is questionable tonight. Detroit would miss him more than usual in this matchup if he were to sit.
Jon Leuer, who’s missed the past five games, is also questionable for the Pistons, while Milwaukee’s Mirza Teletovic is dealing with a sore knee and isn’t likely to suit up.
Detroit is 6-2 against Eastern Conference opponents this season, but this is their first game away from home since Halloween. The Pistons play nine of their next 11 games on the road, so we’re about to find out a whole lot more about this team that’s gotten off to such an impressive start.
Next: Pistons Playbook: Week 4
Detroit and Milwaukee tip off from the Bradley Center at 8:00 p.m. ET tonight.