The Detroit Pistons have lost five in a row, a streak they’d like to end on the road tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Injuries are once again the predominant narrative of the season, as the Pistons have yet to have their full complement of players and haven’t even been close.
They’ve been missing Bojan Bogdanovic, Monte Morris and Isaiah Livers since before preseason and Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, Alec Burks and Joe Harris have also spent time on the bench in street clothes.
You can call this an excuse for their 2-6 start, but I like to think of it as context, as there is no way anyone would expect this young team to perform their best with eight players out with injuries.
The Pistons are already relying on two-way players like Stanley Umude for minutes, and unfortunately, G-League players being forced into the rotation has been a common occurrence for the Pistons in recent years.
Don’t expect anything to change tonight against the Bucks, in fact, things have gotten even worse on the injury front for the Detroit Pistons.
Is Jaden Ivey playing tonight? Latest injury update for Pistons vs. Bucks
Detroit Pistons injuries
The following players have already been ruled out for tonight’s road game against the Milwaukee Bucks:
- Isaiah Livers
- Monte Morris
- Bojan Bogdanovic
- Joe Harris
- Alec Burks
- Jaden Ivey
Jaden Ivey has been battling an illness and will miss his third game in a row, so if you are one of the psychos in my mentions telling me Monty Williams should be fired for not playing Ivey, please know that HE HAS BEEN RULED OUT WITH AN ILLNESS.
Joe Harris has a sprained shoulder and will be out for at least 10-14 days until he is reevaluated. Given how poorly he has played coupled with the fact that he is now hurt, Harris looks like $20 million in cap space thrown into the bin.
Jalen Duren is listed as questionable with an ankle sprain and will be a game-time decision, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pistons play it on the safe side with their young center.
Injuries are not the only reason the Pistons have gotten off to a bad start, but if you can’t put some of the problems you are seeing into context, and just want to howl at the moon about Cade Cunningham’s turnovers or the lack of 4th-quarter execution, I really don’t know what to say to you other than there is not a single team in the NBA that could weather having eight rotation players out with injuries without having some problems.
Milwaukee Bucks
Khris Middleton will be out for the Milwaukee Bucks for what is being called “injury maintenance.” Let’s face it, if the NBA hadn’t changed the rules about sitting All-Stars, the Bucks would probably just play their 2nd unit tonight against Detroit.
How to watch Pistons vs. Bucks
Are you sure you want to? The Bucks are 12.5 point favorites and that number may jump even higher after the official injury report comes out. You can try to watch on Bally Sports Detroit, good luck with that, as Bally being awful is the one thing Pistons fans can agree on. You can also listen on 97.1 FM The ticket or stream on NBA League Pass if you are out of market.
You can also get a free trial at streaming service FUBOtv.