The Detroit Pistons haven’t won since the trade deadline, improving their 2020 NBA Draft odds. Here’s the latest on that and the Tankathon simulations.
The Detroit Pistons are on the move, losing four straight games — all since trading Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers hours before the trade deadline.
The Pistons (19-38) went into the All-Star break after a 116-112 overtime loss to the Orlando Magic. Detroit led 11-4 before Orlando went on a 22-2 run and seized control of the game, eventually building up a 22-point lead. But the Pistons battled all the way back to take a lead in the final minutes, forced overtime and came up short in the final seconds.
It was an incredible display by a young team supplemented with veterans. Christian Wood had 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 12 rebounds and two blocks. He also had several putback dunks down the stretch. Thon Maker added 18 points on 6 of 9, Tony Snell had 16 on 6 of 8 and Markieff Morris scored 14 on 5-of-7 shooting.
Teams around the Tankathon standings allowed the Pistons to improve their odds at landing a top pick. The Hornets went on a 12-2 run late to secure a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. That moved Detroit a half-game ahead of Charlotte and one game within the Knicks and Wolves.
Cleveland beat Atlanta to pull even at 2.5 games behind the league-worst Warriors. As a result, the Pistons are now 3.5 games from a top-3 pick.
The daily tank
Detroit is in a tie for sixth based off win percentage with Charlotte but do have the half-game lead on them to give them a slight odds advantage. The Pistons go to the All-Star break with a 34.8% chance at a top-4 pick and 8.3% chance at the No. 1 pick.
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Thursday’s simulation nets the Pistons a 4.8 average draft position after landing the top pick twice and getting several picks inside the top 4. There was quite a bit of variance in the selections though as it never held true at sixth overall, it either dropped to seventh, eighth or jumped up.
Tankathon’s latest mock draft has Onyeka Okongwu move up to fourth — followed by Tyrese Haliburton, Deni Avdija (to the Pistons) and Killian Hayes.
Due to the injuries of Blake Griffin and Luke Kennard, the Pistons have been operating without their top talent, allowing them to improve their draft odds. It’s also allowed Detroit to get an evaluation on and a look at it’s future with younger players.
With Kennard expected back after the All-Star break, the Pistons are bound to improve some and win a game or two more, potentially like Wednesday’s game against Orlando, by adding another playmaker to the floor.