Detroit Pistons Schedule: We’ll know plenty by the end of November

The Detroit Pistons released their 2022-23 schedule yesterday, which features a couple of brutal months to start the season.

October will only have them playing eight games, but they will play 15 in November with one of the toughest stretches of the season.

It will still be too early to know how the season is going to turn out by that point, as the Pistons are a young team with some new pieces that will likely take time to gel.

Here is what the November schedule looks like:

• vs. Bucks
• vs. Cavaliers
• vs. OKC
• @Boston
• @NYK
• vs. Celtics
• vs. Raptors
• @LAC
• @LAL
• @Sacramento
• @Denver
• @Utah
• @Phoenix
• vs. Cavaliers
• vs. Knicks

Most of the teams the Pistons face in November will be picked to make the playoffs next season and they have a six-game road trip that is going to be brutal.

The season will still be young at that point, but we will know plenty by the end of November.

Detroit Pistons regular season schedule: Contenders or pretenders?

If the Pistons can make it out of November with a record that is somewhere around .500 or not far below, then it’s a good sign that they can compete for a play-in spot (or at least get close). After December, the schedule lightens up and the Pistons play most of the bottom feeders in the final months of the season.

They will be nearly a quarter of the way through the regular season schedule by the end of November and if they haven’t won double-digit games, we’re probably looking at another season of watching lottery odds instead of playoff standings.

What will happen with Killian Hayes?

October is going to be a huge month for Killian Hayes, as the Pistons will have to decide by the end of the month whether to pick up his team option for the 2023-24 season.

If Killian Hayes is playing well and contributing off the bench, then it’s probably a no-brainer that the Pistons pick up that option, as he is still just 21-years-old and has shown glimpses of being a good two-way player.

But if he is struggling to get minutes and we are having the “Is Saben Lee better than Killian Hayes?” conversation again, the Pistons might elect not to exercise that option and instead let Hayes enter his final season and become a restricted free agent.

That might be the best way to light a fire under him, but we will know which direction the Pistons are leaning by the end of November.

Are the Detroit Pistons going to take the next step next season? Will Killian Hayes be part of the future? Check back with me at the end of November.