The Detroit Pistons gave their fans a break last night by winning a game that didn’t require overtime, last-second heroic or antics.
It was an end-to-end domination of the Washington Wizards, which you love to see, as the Pistons are the better team and they imposed their will on Washington and didn’t let up.
Cade Cunningham had an efficient triple-double and added five steals and a block in the effort. We haven’t talked enough about Cade’s defense this season, which is clearly improved.
Cunningham already has 15 blocked shots this season, five of them in clutch time (which leads the NBA), after having just 22 all of last year. Cade currently has more blocks than Bam Adebayo, as well as Jalen Duren, though the latter is less of a surprise.
The Pistons will be rewarded for their efforts with their fourth back-to-back of the early season, this one against Chicago in Little Caesar’s Arena. The Bulls were eviscerated by the Rockets last night, so they too will be on short rest.
Can the Pistons do the unthinkable and win three in a row to give them a .500 record?
Pistons injuries vs. Bulls
The official injury report has not yet been released but it appears that the Pistons will still be missing Ausar Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bobi Klintman.
THJ’s head injury must have been more than just a cut and the Pistons are clearly being careful about a possible concussion.
The Bulls will be missing Lonzo Ball, who has about the worst injury luck of any player in the league. After missing over two years with a knee injury, Ball is now out after hurting his wrist.
Key matchups will test the Pistons again vs. Bulls
The Bulls live and die by the 3-point shot, as they are 3rd in the league in attempts per game and 6th in makes, so if they can hold them in check from beyond the arc, the Pistons will be in good shape.
That includes Nikola Vucevic, who has remembered how to shoot this season and is hitting over 40 percent from long range on four attempts per game. The Pistons have struggled with stretch fives this season, so this will be another test for Jalen Duren, who didn’t play much last night after picking up early fouls.
He has to avoid the dumb ones tonight, and contest Vucevic without fouling. It’s not like Vooch is going to burn you off the dribble, so Duren needs to play him tight but not bite on pump fakes.
This is another game in which Cade Cunningham has an advantage over just about everyone, as the Bulls really don’t have anyone who can handle him one-on-one. Expect the traps to come, and when they do, Cade has to handle them as he did last night, when he had 10 assists to just two turnovers.
The guards need to attack the paint, as the Bulls have next to zero rim protection, so expect Cade and Ivey to go off again tonight. If the Pistons dominate points in the paint, which they should, and keep the Bulls from shooting a high percentage from long range, they should win their third game in a row.
How to watch Pistons vs. Bulls
Tonight’s 7:00 PM ET tip-off from Little Caesar’s Arena will be aired on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and on 97.1 FM The Ticket.
The Pistons will be wearing their new city edition uniforms for the first time of the season tonight if you are into that sort of thing.
You also have plenty of streaming options which you can find here.