76ers collapse changes Eastern landscape for the Pistons

The Detroit Pistons woke up today in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, firmly in the playoff picture. 

That means nothing in November, especially considering they have a losing record and have been helped by a lousy East that only has four teams with winning records. The West has 11, and has dominated the head-to-head play, so we can’t get too excited about being in the playoff picture in the lesser conference. 

Before the season, I did think the Pistons had a shot at the play-in, as they were essentially competing with seven teams for two spots. 

Those odds have been increased by a poor start from the Philadelphia 76ers, who are near an all-out collapse. 

The 76ers collapse is good for the Pistons 

In my preseason predictions I did have Philly as my surprise bad team for the precise reasons that currently have them at 2-12, the worst record in the NBA. 

They’ve had injuries to all three of their stars, and just as they got Joel Embiid back, Paul George hyperextended his knee and had to leave last night’s game. 

Things just keep getting worse for Philly, who have lost five straight and reportedly had a heated players meeting in which superstar Joel Embiid was called out by Tyrese Maxey. 

Those types of things usually go one of two ways, either it lights a fire under the team and they start to string together wins, or it wrecks the locker room and things spiral. 

There is still time in this young season for the 76ers to rally, especially in the Buns East, but they can’t fall too much further back, as they are already 3.5 games behind the final play-in spot. 

I wouldn’t write Philly off, but if they continue to falter, it will help the Pistons. 

The Pistons’ playoff chances 

The East has a clear top-4 right now in Cleveland, Boston, New York and Orlando, the only teams with winning records. I do expect Milwaukee to join them at some point, but after that the East is wide open. 

The Heat, Hawks, Nets, Pacers, Bulls and Hornets are all teams the Pistons can beat and it’s likely one or more of them will tank at some point. The Wizards and Raptors stink and will also likely tank, so unless Philly rallies, there will be only be a handful of teams competing for the final guaranteed playoff spot. 

My money would be on Miami, but that still leaves the 7-10 seeds up for grabs, which gives the Pistons decent odds of at least making the play-in. 

It’s still VERY early and the landscape of the East could look a lot different in a few weeks, but right now it is wide open and the Pistons have as good a shot as any of the teams outside the top five.