The Pistons aren't alone in sprint to the playoffs

Tonight’s game against the Spurs will mark the end of a brutal 11-game stretch in which the Detroit Pistons consistently went up against the best teams in the NBA, but then the schedule eases, setting up a sprint to the finish. 

Even if the Pistons lose tonight, they will have gone 8-3 in this stretch that included multiple games against the Knicks, Cavs and Spurs with a game against OKC thrown in for good measure. 

They weren’t pretty wins, and in the case of OKC, against a shorthanded opponent, but the Pistons will emerge from the toughest stretch of their schedule relatively unscathed. 

The Pistons still hold a five game lead on the Eastern Conference after both the Celtics and Knicks lost last night, and with a more favorable schedule ahead, the Pistons are set up to hold onto the number one seed. 

But they aren’t the only team in this sprint. 

The Pistons, Knicks and Cavaliers in the home stretch 

Detroit has the 25th-most difficult remaining strength of schedule in the NBA and still has plenty of games left against teams that are actively tanking. You can’t take anything for granted in the NBA, as the Pistons learned the hard way against Washington, but the Pistons will be favored in most of their remaining games. 

The same can be said of the Knicks, who have the 27th-most difficult schedule remaining and the Cavaliers, who have it even easier with the 28th. 

Cleveland is just a game behind the Knicks now, and this is a battle the Pistons will be watching closely, as it could potentially dictate their second-round matchup if Detroit doesn’t get bounced in the first round. 

The Charlotte Hornets are also coming out of nowhere to potentially play disruptor in the East, as they have climbed to the 9th seed and are beating up on everyone right now. They have their eyes on the 6th seed and are only 2.5 games behind, so they could play their way out of a potential problem for the Pistons in the first round. 

The Hawks have also won five in a row to climb over .500, so the East has the chance to get wild at the bottom as well as the middle of the playoff standings, which could work out nicely for the Pistons if they can take care of their own business. 

With the Western Conference similarly bunched up, we have the potential for some huge drama at the end of the season as teams jostle for playoff seeding. Let’s hope the Pistons stay out of all of that and hold their spot without being part of any of the chaos that is looming in the East.