Detroit Pistons vs. Philadelphia 76ers 2019-20 season preview

The Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers are becoming rivals on- and off-the-court. Here is what the series has in store for 2019-20.

An overtime game where Blake Griffin scored 50. Trash talking on the court and on social media.  Some close games, pushing, shoving and genuine bad blood. Folks, we might just have ourselves a rivalry.

In the age of player movement, AAU friendships and banana boats real rivalries are hard to come by. The days of Dennis Rodman chucking Scottie Pippen into the third row are largely over, but the Pistons and 76ers dislike for one another has grown into a fun rivalry in the Eastern Conference. The rivalry centers around big men Andre Drummond and Joel Embiid, who have talked plenty of garbage about each other on the court, Instagram and Twitter.

The Pistons went just 1-3 last season against the 76ers with their lone win coming in a 133-132 overtime thriller that was probably the Pistons’ most entertaining game of the season. The rest of the games were competitive, but the Sixers handled the Pistons, largely behind social media clown Embiid, who has pretty much owned Drummond in head-to-head battles and in the Twitterverse.

The Pistons are trying to prove that they belong in the conversation for the top of the East. Philly wants to get to the NBA Finals and anything less will be considered a failure by the psychotic Philly fans, who have patiently endured a decade of “The Process” but want to see some results.

Philly has made tweaks to their lineup that they hope will get them there. Here is a look at how the Sixers transformed themselves in the off season.