Detroit Pistons have big test ahead in month of December
By Travis Gibbs
The Detroit Pistons have a tough 15-game stretch coming up in the month of December. This will show us who this team truly is.
The big conversation around the Detroit Pistons has been whether or not this team is for real. They started the season by winning their first four games.
However, none of those games were particularly impressive wins. The Pistons did beat the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime because of a 50-point performance by Blake Griffin.
The Sixers were without star point guard Ben Simmons in that game. Their other three wins were against the Brooklyn Nets, the Chicago Bulls, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Those three wins were by a combined 12 points. Cleveland, Chicago, and Brooklyn have a combined record of 13-36 this season.
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The Pistons also have a couple of wins against the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks.
Realistically, the only valuable wins they have are against Philadelphia and their last-second buzzer beater against the Toronto Raptors.
However, I think it’s fair to point out that we haven’t watched this team play their best basketball yet. They show flashes of being a good team and then they also play very bad at times.
Guys who have been good shooters in previous seasons aren’t shooting particularly well right now. Reggie Jackson isn’t playing as well as we’ve seen him play in the past.
The Pistons are approaching the end of November and have five games left before the calendar flips to December.
They have a back-to-back with the Houston Rockets and then a home game against the Phoenix Suns. The Rockets are struggling right now. They’re just 8-7 this season.
The Suns are currently 3-13 this season.
They play the Knicks and the Bulls to close out November, two teams at the bottom of the eastern conference.
The Pistons will have to take advantage of these games before going into December. The road definitely gets much more difficult.
Here’s a look at the month of December for the Detroit Pistons:
Dec. 1 vs. Golden State Warriors
Dec. 3 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Dec. 5 @ Milwaukee Bucks
Dec. 7 vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Dec. 9 vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Dec. 10 @ Philadelphia 76ers
Dec. 12 @ Charlotte Hornets
Dec. 15 vs. Boston Celtics
Dec. 17 vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Dec. 19 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Dec. 21 @ Charlotte Hornets
Dec. 23 vs. Atlanta Hawks
Dec. 26 vs. Washington Wizards
Dec. 28 @ Indiana Pacers
Dec. 30 @ Orlando Magic
Ten of those 15 games are against teams that have a record above the .500 mark. This stretch of games is going to really show us who the Detroit Pistons are this season.
As of right now, I see four games that I confidently feel like they can win.
They see the Sixers twice in that period of time. Those will be games to highlight during the month as must-see TV. Round’s three and four of Andre Drummond vs. Joel Embiid should be entertaining.
They’ve already lost to the Charlotte Hornets who come up twice in that 14-game stretch. They’ve also lost to the Boston Celtics twice who are in that schedule of games.
The Milwaukee Bucks are a team the Pistons played tough last season. They split their four games with them. However, the Bucks look like a team that has improved drastically since last season.
They’re currently 12-4 which has a lot to do with their offensive production. The Bucks are first in the league in three-point attempts made, fourth in field goal percentage and sixth in points per game.
And start this walk through hell, it starts with the defending champions! Yes, on December 1 the Golden State Warriors come to Little Caesar’s Arena.
If the Detroit Pistons make it through this stretch of games at 7-8 and win four of their last five games in November, which is doable, they will have a record of 19-16 heading into January.
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That’s being optimistic right now. We’ll see how Dwane Casey and the boys weather adversity.