Pistons biggest test starts tonight and could end in an unexpected place

The Detroit Pistons are 5.5 games ahead of their nearest competitor in the Eastern Conference but start one of their toughest stretches of the season tonight against the elite of the West. 

The Pistons have mowed down the East this season with a 28-7 record in the conference, but they have also handled their business against the West, with a 14-6 record against the allegedly superior side.

But the real test starts tonight, and the next three games could offer a preview of a playoff opponent for the Pistons, possibly one they meet in the Eastern Conference playoffs, or maybe even in the most unexpected place: The NBA Finals,.

The San Antonio Spurs are the Pistons of the West 

The Pistons will take on Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs tonight in arguably their biggest test of the season so far. There really isn’t any way to prep for Wembanyama, so it will be interesting to see how Duren matches up and if he is able to bully Wemby physically. 

The Pistons and Spurs are in similar positions as young teams that are riding MVP candidates to better-than-expected records, but no one is going to believe in either of them until they win a playoff series. 

It may not happen this season, but Pistons vs. Spurs could be a Finals matchup at some point, which will be fun after I get over the PTSD of narrowly losing to them in the Finals more than 20 years ago. 

The OKC Thunder are lurking 

The Pistons won’t get long to recover from the Spurs, as they’ll play the Thunder the game after in a matchup of the two best teams in the league. 

Both teams will be up for this one, and these two games against the top teams in the West will show if the Pistons are legit title contenders or just the best regular season team in the East. 

The Cavs are dangerous after the trade deadline 

The third home game in this stretch is against the surging Cavaliers, who lost last night, but still find themselves in the four seed after a slow start. 

If things were to stay as they currently are, the Pistons and Cavs would meet in the second round if they both won their first-round series. The Cavs won the regular season in the East last season, but like the Pistons, no one will consider them legit until they make a deep playoff run. 

It’s title or bust for the Cavs, who went all-in at the trade deadline to add Jame Harden, Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder. It would be nice to see the Pistons beat them in Detroit, as I still feel like the Cavs have a slight mental edge on the Pistons given their age and experience, one that would be bolstered by a road win in the Motor City.

It doesn’t get much easier after that with road games against the Magic, Cavs and Spurs again to follow, so this stretch is the toughest test of the season for Detroit, and we’ll know a lot about them once it is over.