The Detroit Pistons‘ remaining first-half schedule could throw a monkey wrench in their tank efforts if they are not careful.
The Pistons have just six games remaining in the first half and all of them are potentially “winnable,” though the Pistons have not been doing much winning of late.
This is a crucial stretch for the Pistons, as they have been unable to “gain” any ground in their race to the bottom even though they have lost three in a row
The Pistons are currently sandwiched between the Timberwolves and Cavaliers in the bottom three, and need to remain in that position if they want maximum odds at getting the number one or even a top-four pick in the NBA Draft.
Not only are the Timberwolves and Cavaliers going to provide competition for the league’s worst records, but there are a few other teams creeping that the Pistons need to keep an eye on, including two on their remaining first-half schedule.
Detroit Pistons Schedule: The Kings and Magic are tanking away
The Pistons have six games left before the midway point of the season with games against the Magic, Pelicans, Kings, Knicks, Raptors and Knicks again.
Both the Raptors and Knicks are currently out of the lottery and are trying to win, so they shouldn’t be problems for Detroit when it comes to losing.
Same with the Pelicans, who have had a disappointing start but recently got a huge win over Boston that they hope will propel them back into the playoff race in the Western Conference.
The Detroit Pistons lost to the Orlando Magic last night and the Magic have now won three-in-a-row. The Magic are in-betweeners, as they had playoff hopes this season that have been undone by injury. They are currently in the 8th spot and a few more wins might raise their hopes that they can turn their season around.
That leaves the Sacramento Kings, who have been one of the worst teams in the NBA over the last few weeks, losing seven in a row and vaulting into the tankathon with gusto.
They have little chance at the playoffs in the loaded West, so expect them to continue to slide.
The Detroit Pistons have to be careful not to win too many games in this stretch, which shouldn’t be hard with Delon Wright out with injury.
Hopefully, the Pistons can keep doing what they’ve been doing, which is to lose competitively whilst getting their rookies plenty of important reps.