The ailing Detroit Pistons look to make it three wins in a row

The Detroit Pistons are set to host the Sacramento Kings; whom are coming off of their first back to back wins since the beginning of December.

Last night’s win over the Heat came with more questions of health for the Detroit Pistons following injuries to both Andre Drummond and Ish Smith. It was known that the latter just aggravated his previous injury, and did not re-injure anything. Drummond, however, is a much different story after dropping to the ground from an elbow to the face.

Entering tonight, the Pistons will be without their star center tonight, as he is in concussion protocol. There is still no word on Smith.

Issues Of Health

One of the biggest worries without Drummond is the lack of big men to cover him. Both Henry Ellenson and Jon Leuer were inactive last night due to injury. The good news is that Leuer is likely to be available tonight.

If he is not, that leaves Zaza Pachulia and Blake Griffin to cover the duties. That was on display last night with Pachulia’s 28 minutes.

The Kings are fully healthy entering the game.

Grffin’s Shoulders

With no Drummond, the team rests even more on Griffin’s shoulders than usual. It is not easy losing a fairly reliable double-double threat. The good news, maybe, is that the Detroit Pistons played without their center for the majority of last night’s game.

Griffin was one assist away from tallying a 30-point triple-double. And Luke Kennard took control as a secondary scorer for the team. That is what carried them to victory last night, and something similar will have to go on tonight.

Maybe it won’t be Kennard, but someone will have to take over. It could be Reggie Bullock or Reggie Jackson. Frankly, it shouldn’t matter. Someone needs to step up if the Pistons are going to take their third game in a row.

Opponents

Less than 10 days ago, the Kings beat the Pistons 112-102. Since that game they are 2-1, beating both the Hornets and the Trail Blazers.

The last time these two teams met, Sacramento had seven players post double figures, led by Buddy Hield‘s 18 points. Willie Cauley-Stein caused trouble as well, tallying 14 rebounds and 14 points. That is even more worry-some without the presence of Andre Drummond.

This will not be an easy game, but the Detroit Pistons are coming off a pair of wins. If they want to win, it will have to be a team effort. And they will certainly be feeling the absence of Drummond.