Detroit Pistons take on Kawhi-less Toronto Raptors

The Detroit Pistons go home to take on the Kawhi-less Toronto Raptors after a dominating victory against the Cavaliers Saturday night.

The Detroit Pistons are coming off of a dominate 36 point win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On the back-end of a back-to-back, the Pistons are taking on Dwane Casey’s former team the Toronto Raptors.

And the Pistons are going to catch a bit of a break, with superstar Kawhi Leonard now being listed as out due to rest.

This presents a great opportunity for the Pistons. With a win tonight, the Detroit Pistons will have climbed their way to the 6th seed.

The Pistons can’t take the Raptors lightly with Leonard out, however. The Raptors present one of the deepest teams in the NBA, and still are led by All Star Kyle Lowry. Don’t forget, the Raptors have also added star big man Marc Gasol and point guard Jeremy Lin to the team.

With the new additions of Gasol and Lin, the Raptors still present themselves as an elite team; even without Leonard on the floor.

The Raptors also have the likely Most Improved Player of the year in Pascal Siakam on the team. Siakam is averaging 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, three assists, on 55 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent from deep.

The Pistons will need their team to continue their strong play over the last month.

A ton has been made of Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond‘s play over the last month and a half. But, the improved play of the team as a whole is what’s encouraging moving forward.

In their last win over the Cavaliers, Luke Kennard dropped 26 points and shot 6-6 from beyond the arc. Over his last 10 games, Kennard has averaged 13.1 points on 48 percent from the field and 47 from deep.

Along with the addition of Wayne Ellington, who is shooting 36 percent on eight attempts a game since joining the Pistons, and the improved play of Langston Galloway, the Detroit Pistons have been seeing an improved play from beyond the arc.

The Detroit Pistons will look to continue this play tonight at 6:00pm, and hope to move within one game of .500.