The Detroit Pistons swept the Toronto Raptors, which went on to win the 2019 NBA championship. Here’s insight into their first meeting in 2019-20.
Sweeping the eventual-NBA champions was a highlight in a Detroit Pistons season that landed them a playoff bid for the second time in four seasons. But Detroit is 2-2 without Blake Griffin to start the season, and with Kawhi Leonard leaving the Toronto Raptors after winning the 2019 NBA championship, and gets another game against an Eastern Conference opponent the Pistons will be battling for playoff seeding.
The Pistons have already beaten the Indiana Pacers twice, which is another team they’ll be fighting for seeding against. Detroit begins a quick, two-game trip in Toronto (3-1) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Gameday information
TV: Fox Sports Detroit
Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket
Stream: FUBO.TV or Fox Sports Go
Last time out: Pistons beat Indiana 96-94. Raptors beat Orlando 104-95.
Line: Raptors -9, according to The Action Network.
Over/under: 213.5, according to The Action Network.
Injury report
Pistons have three players out. Griffin traveled with the team and took shots during shootaround but remains out with a knee injury and is expected to be re-evaluated in November. Reggie Jackson didn’t make the trip to Toronto and remains out with a back injury. Sekou Doumbouya is out due to concussion protocol, the Detroit News’ Rod Beard reports.
Looks like #Pistons Blake Griffin is getting closer... pic.twitter.com/8NabrL8M8I
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) October 30, 2019
Toronto’s injury report is clear, according to The Athletic’s Blake Murphy.
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-Detroit swept last season’s three-game season series with a win margin of 10 total points, including an overtime game. Griffin played in all three contests meanwhile Kyle Lowry and Leonard each sat one game (not the same game).
-Through four games, the Pistons had three players in the NBA’s Top 50 most efficient players. Andre Drummond, Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard have seemed a bump in usage and have taken advantage of it.
–Stanley Johnson suits up against the Detroit Pistons for the first time in his fifth season in the NBA. Detroit selected Johnson eighth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft and traded him last season before the trade deadline in a three-team deal that landed the Pistons reserve forward Thon Maker.
Johnson started 64 of 267 games played in a Pistons uniform and averaged 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1 steal per game while shooting 37.2 percent from the field. He’s appeared in two games with the Raptors, scoring five points in 10 minutes, grabbing four rebounds and turning it over four times.
-Drummond is going to have to be a key on Wednesday. He hasn’t faired well offensively against Marc Gasol historically. But he’s improved his game and is able to drive from the perimeter with improved ball-handling, meaning the tide could turn.