The Detroit Pistons have some favorable scheduling against the Indiana Pacers, which should aid them in the 2019-20 season series.
The Indiana Pacers handled the Detroit Pistons with ease in last year’s season series but the 2019-20 season is a far more promising matchup for Detroit.
For one, they’re going to avoid playing Victor Oladipo. The quick guard is still recovering from a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee, suffered last January, and isn’t expected to be back until December or January.
All four meetings this season occur by Dec. 6.
It didn’t matter if Oladipo was in the lineup or not last season. The Pistons struggled defensively and Indiana knocked down shots to take a 3-1 series win with relative ease. Twice the Pacers had seven players in double figures and the other two games there were five players in double figures.
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Detroit’s lone win in the series was a 113-109 grind in which Blake Griffin registered a triple double. He had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while Andre Drummond scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
But it wasn’t just Oladipo out, missing the final three games of the season series. Griffin was out for the final two, dealing with a meniscus injury which was later diagnosed as torn.
Indiana’s three wins were by 27, nine and 19 points. In the 125-88 win, the Pacers shot 60.9 percent in that game. The 111-102 win saw the Pacers shoot 54.5 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point range. Detroit fared better defensively in a 108-89 loss, allowing the Pacers to make 46.7 percent from the field.
This year’s season series is going to be different due to a lot of turnover in Indianapolis. Let’s take a look at those changes and the matchups.
This is the 11th preview of Piston Powered’s series, taking a look at how the Pistons stack up against all 29 NBA teams.