The Detroit Pistons are once again at home watching the NBA playoffs, something they hope to change soon.
The first round already produced some exciting moments and the semi-final matchups are great in both the East and Western Conference.
The Milwaukee Bucks will take on the Boston Celtics, along with the Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers in the East. The West will see the Memphis Grizzlies square off against the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns play the Dallas Mavericks.
There are plenty of interesting narratives in all four series, but as a fan of the Detroit Pistons, I am always looking at everything through a Pistons’ lens.
I like to choose a team in the playoffs once mine is eliminated, usually basing it on which teams I hate (Pistons rivals), size of the market (I go for the smaller ones), connections to the Pistons (not many this year) and teams with players I want the Pistons to go after.
So here is my guide for the NBA semi-finals and who I want to win the title. Let’s start with the hated three.
Detroit Pistons fan guide to the NBA semi-finals
The Hated Three
Boston Celtics: Other than the Los Angeles Lakers, there is no team I hate more than the Boston Celtics, so I’ll be cheering for them to lose no matter who they are playing. If you have to ask why, then you didn’t grow up in the same era that I did. Your homework is to watch this game in its entirety, then get back to me. Or just look up “Larry Bird fights Pistons” and you’ll get the basic idea.
They also beat that 2007-8 Pistons team that I loved (RIP Flip Saunders) if you need a more recent example of why we should never cheer for the Celtics.
Philadelphia 76ers: Another Eastern Conference rival that the Pistons used to regularly fight back in the day. It sucks that Joel Embiid is injured, as the series would be better with him, but he’s a guy who has given the Detroit Pistons grief over the years, especially back when he was punking Andre Drummond. I’ll not be cheering for the 76ers either.
Miami Heat: I hold grudges and am still salty that the Detroit Pistons didn’t get another title out of all of those conference Finals with the Goin’ to Work squad. Part of the reason they didn’t is because of Miami, who beat the Pistons in 2006 with that Dwyane Wade/Shaq team that eventually won the title behind Wade’s brilliance and some helpful refereeing. They always seem to be good and have an easy time drawing players, so are easy to hate.
Detroit Pistons fan guide to the NBA semi-finals
The Smaller Markets
I tend to go for teams that don’t come from the big markets, as I like underdogs and get sick of most of the attention going to the same handful of teams on the coasts. The Lakers and Knicks, two teams that absolutely stunk and were miserable to watch this season, had 71 nationally televised games combined, while the Grizzlies and Pelicans, two playoff teams with exciting young players who are actually fun to watch, had eight combined, one of which was against each other.
The league is stacked against the smaller markets in terms of media coverage and free agency, where players tend to go for the warm cities or ones without state income tax.
There are three smaller market teams in the semi-finals this season.
Phoenix Suns: lived in Phoenix for many years, so I do have some personal affection for the Suns after attending a lot of games there. They are the 12th-biggest NBA Market and even though I am not the biggest fan of Chris Paul, he’s playing out of his mind right now and is going all out to win a title. Dallas already has a title and Luka, so they will be just fine.
Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks are the 25th-largest NBA market, and are the only team in the playoffs with an ex-Piston, Khris Middleton, who is probably going to miss the entire series against Boston. The Bucks are playing the Celtics and I picked the Bucks as my preseason champion, so I’ll obviously be cheering for the Bucks in this one.
Memphis Grizzlies: I love the Grizzlies, as they are really fun to watch with Ja Morant flying all over the place, and I think they are the type of team the Detroit Pistons are trying to build. They’ve built their squad mostly through the draft and development, which is the route the Pistons are taking. The Pistons hope to follow Ja and the Grizzlies by building around a dynamic superstar guard and solid drafting. I’ll definitely be cheering for the Grizzlies, the NBA’s smallest market, against Golden State and really look forward to watching Ja and Stephen Curry go head-to-head.
Detroit Pistons fan guide to the NBA semi-finals
Possible Future Detroit Pistons
There are a number of possible future free agents and trade targets on the remaining eight teams.
There has been some talk of the Pistons potentially trading for Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat, but I have hard time imagining Troy Weaver taking on that kind of contract for a one-dimensional player.
Golden State is a team to watch depending on how finish, as they have a bloated payroll and a big extension coming for Jordon Poole.
But the Phoenix/Dallas series will have the two high-level free agents most often connected to the Pistons. Deandre Ayton has been playing very well for the Phoenix Suns, showing why he’d be a great fit on the Pistons.
Most recently, the Pistons were connected to future unrestricted free agent Jalen Brunson, who Detroit is reportedly “planning a big-money offer” for this offseason. I’ll be watching him closely, as I am not yet sold on him as the right fit with Cade Cunningham.
There are a number of narratives connected to the Detroit Pistons if you are looking for them, but in the end, I’ll be cheering for the Memphis Grizzlies, who are not a hated rival, come from the smallest market in the NBA and have the type of team I’d love the Pistons to emulate.