The Detroit Pistons look to stay alive tonight with a win versus Bucks

The Detroit Pistons look to avoid a playoff ending run tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks as they look to steal a game at Little Caesars Arena.

The Detroit Pistons are currently down 3-0 in their series versus the Bucks. They are trying to avoid the embarrassment of being the second team swept in the playoffs this year. The Indiana Pacers were unexpectedly swept by the Boston Celtics. And the Houston Rockets could potentially sweep the Utah Jazz with a win tonight.

Andre Drummond had a rough outing in the Pistons’ first playoff game at Little Caesars Arena. He tallied 12 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. Sounds like a pretty good statline. But he shot 5 for 14 from the field and had a lack of energy throughout most of the game.

He wasn’t the only one who struggled for the Pistons. In fact, everyone that isn’t named Blake Griffin struggled to get any offense going. Griffin had 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in his playoff debut. The Bucks let him get to the spots he wanted and Griffin punished them for it.

He also played pretty stellar defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo; holding him to 14 points on 5 for 13 shooting.

It’s unsure if he will be ready to go for potentially the last game of the playoffs for the Pistons. Griffin looked better than expected moving around the court in their loss Sunday night. But he still looked uncomfortable moving around at times.

What to look out for tonight!

• A couple of last game Piston’ performances from Ish Smith, Wayne Ellington, and Glenn Robinson III. Ish Smith has been with the Pistons for three seasons. He’s played 219 games in those three seasons and started for the injured Reggie Jackson in 67 of those games. As a Piston he averaged 9.8 points per game and 4.5 assists per game while getting the bench unit going. He has had a couple of marvelous performances in the three years he’s been here. Look for him to give the Pistons crowd one last memory before he enters free agency. Ellington is going to look to get paid this off-season. Teams that are in dire need of three-point shooting will offer him a decent sized contract. But with the way he’s played in playoff time for the Pistons, teams might look to underpay him. Ellington is going to look to avoid that by knocking down three after three. And Glenn Robinson III signed a two-year team option deal with the Pistons. He was hoping that he could rejuvenate his basketball career with the Pistons. And the Pistons were hoping he could become the three-and-d wing player that they have desperately needed. This didn’t turn out the way either party wanted. The Pistons are likely to decline his team option this summer. Robinson will look to prove that he could help a team’s rotation.
• Andre Drummond revenge game. Drummond struggled to do just about anything last game. He was heavily criticized on social media about his play style and energy that he brought in game three. He was even criticized by Pistons legend Chauncey Billups; who was doing color commentary for ESPN in that game. And to make things even worse, he was criticized by the Pistons crowd. They booed him off the floor after a struggle of a night. Look for him to bounce back and get the LCA crowd behind him.

• Potential last games for Pistons players? Going into the off-season the Pistons are going to look at every possible move they can do. That includes potential trade pieces to improve the roster. Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, Langston Galloway, and Luke Kennard could be moved in the off-season. Nobody is untouchable in this league. And an offer can potentially pop up that the Pistons cannot refuse. So enjoy watching these players play tonight. It could be their last if a deal happens in the summer.

Pistons tipoff the game at 8 PM ET on TNT