Detroit Pistons Face Miami Heat to Defend Playoff Spot
By Joye Pruitt
The Detroit Pistons head to American Airlines Arena to battle the Miami Heat in a game that could have playoff implications.
The Detroit Pistons (27-30) head into the second game of their back-to-back to be played in South Beach against the Miami Heat (26-31) at American Airlines Arena. Coming off of a hot start to post-All Star NBA action, the Pistons look to build on Friday night’s win against the Atlanta Hawks with a win against the Heat who are only a game out of eighth place behind Detroit.
The Pistons and the Heat met two times this season already and have split those meetings with the average margin of victory at five points. There was less on the line in those days.
The Heat are coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the Joel Embiid -less Philadelphia 76ers.
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The Detroit Pistons, on the other hand, snatched a victory from the Hawks on the road on the back of a 32-point performance by Reggie Jackson and a mid-game ejection for Blake Griffin.
Jackson’s hand has yet to cool since his 25-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks back in January. He stumbled into Dwane Casey’s game plan for him, but has found a comfortable stroke and confidence on the floor that sees him with a plus/minus over the stretch of 12 and hitting 51.9 percent from the field.
Reggie needs to stay consistent and aware on both ends of the floor to keep this train pushing. The responsibility will partially lie with Miami guard Dion Waiters to keep his flame contained.
In Dwyane Wade’s last season in the NBA, the Miami Heat are still in contention for a spot in the postseason this April. Things appeared to be moving forward with guard Goran Dragic cleared for practice and he subsequently traveled with the team to Philadelphia.
However, Friday night’s game left James Johnson with a sprained shoulder and listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons. That places Derrick Jones Jr directly into rotation behind Kelly Olynyk at the forward position.
Blake Griffin will have a clear head on his shoulders after being booted from Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks and should have a solid night. The normally aggressive point forward was out of his bag and it showed as his emotions towards Atlanta’s bench was the kicker. He’s averaged 28.0 points on 40.0 percent shooting this season against the Miami Heat.
Luke Kennard may be this game’s wild card. Numbers aside, Luke’s most impressive attribute is his blossoming confidence.
He’s averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 assists and 2 rebounds a night over Detroit’s last three games. Kennard is more ready for the ball than he’s ever been and continues to improve his off-ball movement ensuring that he hits his spots when his teammates expect him to be there. Against a player like Justise Winslow, Kennard will need to be quick on his feet.
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The Detroit Pistons are high-stepping into Saturday night’s game, but the Miami Heat need the win just as badly to push for playoff contention. The Pistons need all hands on deck – for all 48 minutes.