By the end of tonight, the Detroit Pistons will know if their tanking season paid off.
A loss, and they are guaranteed the second-worst record in the NBA, while a win opens up a potential can of worms that none of us want to see.
The Pistons will be shorthanded once again, with most of their veterans sitting out with “injuries” and Isaiah Stewart likely to miss his second game in a row due to personal reasons.
Sekou Doumbouya is also out for personal reasons, which is too bad, as it would have been nice to see him get one more game this season.
The Pistons will be rolling with a young team and not actually trying to win, but there are still some things to watch for when they take on the Miami Heat.
Detroit Pistons: Finish strong, but not too strong
It would be nice to see Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, Hamidou Diallo and the rest of the Pistons’ young players have strong games to finish the season and carry some positive momentum into the offseason.
Bey is not going to break the rookie record for made 3-point shots but he can still move up the list, Hayes has had 12 games in a row with 5+ assists, and Diallo just wants to finish the season healthy, though another 35 point outburst would be welcome.
The main thing is to finish on a competitive note, but let’s not get crazy, as the Detroit Pistons really do not need or want to actually win this game.
They might be playing with a seven-man rotation, so we shouldn’t have to worry too much, but the Pistons have played a couple of sloppy, ugly offensive games in a row, so let’s hope for a semi-competitive game with some better offense that ends in a loss.
Detroit Pistons: Will Deividas Sirvydis play vs. the Miami Heat?
One of the most disappointing things of the home stretch was the injury to Deividas Sirvydis that came on the heels of his best half as a professional.
He scored 16 points, knocked down four 3-pointers and had some nice takes off the bounce in the first half of the last loss, but didn’t return after half because of a calf injury.
I am hoping the Pistons just pulled him because they were afraid his hot shooting was going to win them the game against the Nuggets and that his injury isn’t too serious because it would be great to see him play one more game.
After seeing him few times, the offensive potential is definitely there and you can understand why the Pistons were high on him, but can he hold up over a whole season? Can he play defense?
These are questions we could have gotten answers to earlier and I think Dwane Casey probably wishes he had gotten Sirvydis some run a little earlier in the season, especially considering how badly the Pistons need 3-point shooting.
He is listed as day-to-day and will be a game time decision against the Heat, so I am really hoping he is ok, so we can get one more game of footage.
Detroit Pistons: Restricted free agents and defense
There are a few more interesting things to watch in the final game of the season.
The Miami Heat have one restricted free agent, Duncan Robinson, who could interest the Detroit Pistons this offseason, though Miami is likely to re-sign him.
Robinson is the 3-point shooter the Pistons need but he might be too expensive and they aren’t close enough yet to splash out on role players, but he’s an interesting option nonetheless.
Another thing to watch is if the Pistons can finish the season in the top-ten in points allowed. They are currently 10th in the NBA and it would be a great achievement for Dwane Casey to have a top-ten defense with this roster.
When you consider the Pistons’ age and the roster churn they’ve gone through, it is impassive that they could finish as as top-ten defense and should give fans hope that they can make the leap into the playoffs next season with the right offseason moves.
This long tank is almost over but the Detroit Pistons just need to lose one more to bring it home. Let’s hope they do it like they have all season, competitively and with an eye on the future.