Detroit Pistons will be a huge part of the Eastern play-in tournament

The Detroit Pistons entered the season with pipe dreams of being a part of the NBA play-in tournament.

An early injury to Cade Cunningham spoiled those fantasies quickly and instead the Pistons are once again at the bottom of the Eastern Conference looking up. With just 16 wins on the season, Detroit is checking lottery odds instead of playoffs standings.

With only 13 games remaining in the season, Detroit is nearly a lock for one of the bottom three spots, which will up their slim chances of getting the #1 pick in the NBA Draft. But they still have some things to play for, as they have guys fighting for future spots, and players trying to make their cases for bigger roles next season.

Detroit also has the chance to play spoiler in the play-in tournament, as their remaining schedule features almost all of the teams fighting for spots in the Eastern Conference.

Detroit Pistons schedule: Spoiler for the play-in tournament

The Detroit Pistons wanted to be part of the play-in tournament, and in a way they are, as they have a chance to play spoiler against several of the play-in teams, or to help them pad their win totals.

In the 13 games the Pistons have left, seven of them are against teams that are currently jockeying for position in the play-in race or trying to win their way in:

• March 14: @Wizards
• March 19: vs. Heat
• March 21: @Hawks
• March 24: @Raptors
• April 4: vs. Heat
• April 7: @Pacers
• April 9: @Bulls

The Wizards are currently 11th, just a half game behind the Bulls and hoping to rack up another win against Detroit tonight.

The Heat are 7th, but just three games behind the Knicks, so would love to win their way out of the play-in tournament altogether. The Pistons will play them twice at home, looking to spoil the Heat’s chances.

The Hawks, Raptors and Bulls are 8th, 9th and 10th, respectively, with just two games separating them, so none of these teams are going to want to drop a game against the lowly Pistons. Those hoping Detroit doesn’t win another game will be happy that all of these teams will have something to play for down the stretch.

The Pacers are currently on the outside looking in, but could be closer by the time Detroit plays them on the road in April.

It’s possible that the Detroit Pistons won’t win any of these games, but nothing is a given in the NBA, so they could play a huge role in which teams end up making the play-in tournament in the East.