The Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder are in similar spots as franchises.
Both are rebuilding and playing the long game. Both have some exciting young talent that needs more experience and reps. Both are going to have copious amounts of cap space to make moves over the next few seasons. And both have a chance to add another impact talent in the 2022 NBA Draft.
In fact, it would be easy to argue that they are the two worst teams in the NBA right now, as the Pistons have the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the Thunder are a game ahead of the Pelicans for the worst record in the Western Conference and should be there soon.
“Tanking” is moot at this point, as neither of these teams have to try to lose, as teams full of 19 and 20-year-olds are never going to win many games in the NBA.
The race for the number one pick in the 2022 NBA Draft is on again and it will be a tight one between the Pistons and the Thunder.
The Pistons and Thunder have similar rosters
I should first mention that having the worst record in the NBA does not guarantee anything, as the Pistons thankfully found out last season when they rode the 2nd-worst record to the number one pick.
The three worst teams all have the same odds, but there is one advantage to having the worst record, which is that the team can’t fall out of the top five.
If you look at these two rosters, there are a lot of similarities. Both have a young star point guard to build around in Cade Cunningham and Josh Giddey. Cunningham has been great lately, as his shot is starting to fall.
Giddey has also been stuffing the stat sheet, but is also struggling with his shot at times.
Both teams also have All-Star level talents in Jerami Grant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to go with solid role players with upside like Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Luguentz Dort and Aleksej Pokusevski.
These two rosters are similar in age and talent level and will undoubtedly be near the bottom of their respective conferences once again. The Pistons and Thunder are selling hope and patience to their fanbases as they race for another impact talent in the draft.
Detroit Pistons vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Records and strength of schedule
The Pistons and Thunder have both lost eight games in a row and are really struggling at the moment, so one of these streaks is going to end tonight.
The Pistons are just 4-18 and haven’t won a game since I wrote that having four wins was a good thing. It was then, not so much now.
The Thunder are 6-16 but are also on a skid with their best player out with an injury.
According to Tankathon, the Pistons have 60 games remaining with the 13th most-difficult remaining schedule in the NBA.
The Thunder also have 60 games left and have 12th most-difficult remaining schedule in the NBA.
These two teams couldn’t be much closer in terms of records and schedule, and the East and West are fairly even this year when it comes to talent, so neither has a huge advantage there.
This one may come down to the head-to-head battles and which team stay healthier throughout the season.
Pistons vs. Thunder: Head-to-head and injuries
The Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder will only play twice this season.
The first game is tonight in Detroit and the second is not until April 1st in Oklahoma City. It will be interesting to see where both teams are at that point, as they might both be in full-on tank mode with some veteran players traded and young guys getting almost all of the minutes.
This season and the race for the number one pick could come down to which team has more injuries, both real ones and the “injuries” that keep veterans out late in the season when a team is tanking.
So far they have both suffered some losses, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has missed three games with injury so far and will be out for tonight’s matchup as well.
The Pistons have only suffered one major injury to Kelly Olynyk so far, and he will still be out several more weeks, which was a significant loss for a team without any big man depth.
Hamidou Diallo is listed as out tonight against his former team with a facial injury and Cory Joseph is listed as doubtful, a loss that would not hurt the Pistons.
With SGA out and the Pistons at home, Detroit has the inside track to winning tonight, but nothing is certain with a team that shoots as poorly as Detroit does.
Hopefully this will be the last season that the Pistons are battling for the worst record in the league, but for now, hope and patience will be required.