Detroit Pistons: Tonight’s tank-off with Rockets will decide Lottery Odds

The Detroit Pistons will square off against the Houston Rockets tonight on the road in a matchup between the NBA’s two worst teams.

Both teams are riding seven-game losing streaks coming into tonight, so something will have to give unless there is a mutual forfeit.

The Pistons are actually 5.5 point underdogs tonight to the stinking Rockets, who are trying to sweep the season series.

The Detroit Pistons will once again have all of their veterans (to go along with Cade Cunningham, Hamidou Diallo and Isaiah Stewart) out with injuries and that list may include Killian Hayes after he had to leave the last game with what looked to be a leg injury.

We are likely to see some wacky lineups tonight for the Pistons that will feature a few waiver-wire cast-offs as Detroit tries to secure the worst record in the league.

That wouldn’t change their odds for the #1 pick, nor to even stay in the top four, as the bottom three teams all have the same odds, but it would prevent the Pistons from falling any lower than 5th in the lottery, so there is one benefit.

Otherwise, these two teams are just playing for pride, and in the Pistons’ case, trying not to go down in the history books in a tie for the worst record in franchise history.

Detroit Pistons lottery odds will be decided by this game

The Detroit Pistons are 1.5 games behind the Rockets with six games to go in the season.

A loss tonight, and Detroit would have to be three games better than the Rockets with just five games left, which is highly unlikely given that they have lost 18 of their last 19 games overall.

If Detroit were to win tonight, then a tie is definitely on the table, which would then be decided by random drawing for who ends up with the league’s worst record.

So other than bragging rights for the Rockets, as well as the “Jalen Green is better than Cade” fanatics, the only thing at stake tonight is the possibility of dropping one extra spot in the draft.

This position has become very familiar, so let’s hope this is the last season in which lottery odds are the primary focus in the final stretch of games.