The Detroit Pistons released their regular season schedule yesterday and there is plenty to talk about.
They kick off the season against the Orlando Magic in a battle of the Eastern Conference cellar dwellers from last season, but there are many interesting subplots as well.
The Pistons are hoping to climb out of the basement of the East this season, but it won’t be easy, as nearly the entire conference got better in the offseason, and the young Pistons will likely only get around 55 games to prove themselves before the inevitable veteran fire sale.
If they aren’t hovering around .500 by that point, we could see another tank job, as there is a generational prospect coming out next season and Detroit could be buried in the standings by the trade deadline anyway.
Hopefully Cade Cunningham will make a big leap, and that the additions of veterans Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel, to go along with prize rookies Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren will be enough to keep the Detroit Pistons competitive, but they still might be a year away realistically.
Here are predictions of how the Pistons schedule will go month-by-month, and whether it will be enough to get them near the play-in by the end of the season.
Detroit Pistons regular season schedule predictions
October: 3 wins, 5 losses
The Pistons will start their regular season on October 19th against the Orlando Magic, a game I think they should win.
But the league didn’t do them any favors after that, as Detroit has three back-to-backs in the first month, including games against the Warriors and then on the road against the Bucks on consecutive nights.
I predict wins against the Magic, Knicks and Wizards to start the season, but I think this is probably an optimistic prediction considering their opponents and the early back-to-backs.
November: 5 wins, 10 losses
It doesn’t get much better in November, which is arguably their toughest month. Detroit will have a stretch that features the Celtics, Knicks, Celtics, Raptors, Clippers and Lakers, three of which are on the road.
I have them winning games against the Thunder, Raptors (since Dwane Casey has owned them since leaving), Kings, Cavaliers and Knicks, but none of these are gimmes, so this month could actually be much worse.
With such a tough stretch, we’ll probably know by the end of November whether the Detroit Pistons have a chance to compete for the play-in in the East.