Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons head to Philly for rematch

Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons will travel to Philadelphia to face Joel Embiid and the 76ers for a rematch. Here’s the breakdown of today’s game.

The Detroit Pistons enter Saturday afternoon’s contest at Wells Fargo Arena against the Philadelphia 76ers with a 4-3 record and hopes to end a three-game skid that began last week against the Boston Celtics.

The Pistons should feel good about this match-up. The last time these two Eastern Conference teams met, Blake Griffin scored a career-high 50 points on 57.1 percent field-goal shooting.

If you didn’t get a chance to see it, Griffin went off. Detroit tallied their third win of the season in overtime and were one of the teams sitting at the top of the conference.

Things have changed on that front as the Pistons look to get back to the basics, even if it is without their three-point option Reggie Bullock on the floor.

Bullock’s absence from the game is the more impactful from the list above. Bullock’s three-point shooting on the season has been kryptonite for the Detroit Pistons at just 25 percent.

Even shooting a sub-par percentage thus far, Bullock’s presence on the perimeter is still a requirement for the Pistons to spread the floor.

Players like Bruce Brown and Langston Galloway will likely log more minutes in his absence to implement a variety of offensive sets to make up the difference.

The Detroit Pistons will also try to recover defensively. Failed perimeter defense and bad switches allowed a crushing Brooklyn Nets’ victory Wednesday night.

Spencer Dinwiddie ripped the heart out of the game for the Pistons that night. Coming off a 41-point game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Joel Embiid is looking to do the same.

What will be interesting to see is how the officials call this game after Embiid was issued a warning for a flop that resulted in an ejection for Pistons all-star center Andre Drummond in their last meeting.

Embiid prides himself on having “lots of real estate in Drummond’s head”.

However, if the officials call the game (at least between the two big men) looser than before, Drummond could play the forward more physical and force him to take some bad shots.

Embiid is a tough guard for anyone. Drummond needs to become more vocal in calling for help defense and not make this a one-on-one match-up. That game plan would play directly into the Sixers’ hands.

The Detroit Pistons will face a new lineup because Ben Simmons was not in the previous game.

This is not such a terrible thing for the Pistons. Simmons may be a perennial star, but he does not consistently showcase his jump shot. With Simmons and Markelle Fultz on the floor, that allows the Detroit Pistons to throw more bodies to cloud Philly’s driving lanes.

Fultz is also having trouble further from the basket. The Sixers’ guard field-goal percentage this season is 40.9 percent. Fultz is only shooting a 28.1 percent clip in jump shots.

The Detroit Pistons have their hands full Saturday afternoon and the Philadelphia 76ers are undefeated at home. A signature win at Wells Fargo Center could turn this season back on its heels and in the right direction.

Detroit Pistons key injuries

• Reggie Bullock (game-time decision) with an ankle injury
• Luke Kennard (out) shoulder injury

Philadelphia 76ers key injuries

• Zhaire Smith (out), surgery on foot and in recovery
• Jerryd Bayless (out), knee sprain
• Wilson Chandler (questionable), hamstring