Detroit Pistons lottery odds: The tank panic is overblown

The Detroit Pistons have won three games in a row, most recently against the Indiana Pacers, a fellow tanker.

This has some fans worried about the Pistons lottery odds, and you can’t blame them, as the only thing good about enduring another losing season is the hope that comes with another high draft pick.

I don’t agree with tanking on principle, and do think that learning how to stay close in games and win some of them will pay dividends in the future, but I also see the logic of not winning a few games that are ultimately meaningless in the standings.

It’s a difficult balancing act when you want that top pick but also want to develop players, not teach them bad habits and this is complicated even further when one of them (Cade Cunningham) is in the race for Rookie of the Year.

The Detroit Pistons went to drastic measures to try and lose the last couple of games, but it didn’t matter, as they are better than the other tanking teams (which is a good thing) and couldn’t manage to lose even though they gave huge minutes to a guy on a 10-day contract and a player they had just signed a few hours earlier.

The Detroit Pistons are winning too much for some, which is causing a bit of a panic for fans who probably still have PTSD from all of those 7th picks.

But don’t worry, the Pistons are right where they need to be.

Detroit Pistons lottery odds: Things still look fine for Detroit

After winning three in a row while the teams around them egregiously and successfully tanked, the Detroit Pistons find themselves three games ahead of both Orlando and Houston for the worst record in the league.

Unless one of these teams wins out and the Pistons lose out, Detroit will not have one of the two worst records, but that’s ok.

The bottom three teams all have the same odds for a top-4 or number one pick, the only difference being how far you can fall. In my opinion, there is little difference between having the 5th or 7th pick in this draft.

But what about OKC?

The Pistons are just a half game behind OKC and could definitely end up passing them in the standings. Even if that happened, their lottery odds would only change by roughly four percent and getting a top-4 pick would still pretty much be a coin flip.

The Pistons are two behind the Pacers (who have lost seven straight) with three to go, so would have to win two of their final three games to catch them.

Detroit plays the Mavericks, Bucks and 76ers, all teams who will be vying for playoff position and are unlikely to be resting their stars. The Pistons could easily lose out, in which case, they will be locked in the third-worst position.

So even though Detroit has won some “meaningless” games down the stretch, they are still right where they need to be, with maximum lottery odds and a good chance to keep them.