It's hard to find any positives in the position the Detroit Pistons are in, but if there's any hope fans should be holding onto, it's the fact that if J.B. Bickerstaff's squad somehow manages to turn the tables in this series, while rest may not be on their side, it won't be on anybody else's side either.
There's no denying that the Detroit Pistons are in a tough spot entering Game 4 on the road.
Down 2-1 to the 8-seeded Orlando Magic, nobody expected the top seed in the East to have their backs against the wall, at least not this early into the postseason.
The Pistons enter Monday night's matchup in what many would consider a do-or-die situation, with the risk of going down 3-1 looming, but the chance to knot this series up at 2-2 would put them in the same position as nearly every other team in the East outside of the Boston Celtics.
Pistons catching a break with playoff chaos in the East
Over the weekend, the Toronto Raptors managed to flip the script in their first-round matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, bouncing back from a 2-0 series deficit and evening the series after securing both games at home.
As for the New York Knicks, the challenge from the Atlanta Hawks is matching up to the expectations that nearly every team in the East feared entering round one.
The Knicks managed to prevent themselves from falling to 3-1 with a much-needed win on Saturday night, but even then, all signs point to this series going to a Game 6 with a Game 7 feeling very realistic.
All that to say, if Detroit can flip the script in their first-round matchup, the disadvantage of not having rest on their side won't be present considering the fact that their potential second-round opponent finds themselves in the same situation through four games.
And for anybody who's finding it hard to have any hope Detroit can turn this series around, if there's any team that can do it, it's the Pistons.
Detroit can easily get back in this series
Detroit's Game 3 loss on Saturday made it extremely easy to warrant pressing the panic button, especially considering the persistent issues that continue to plague the Pistons.
Still, it feels like the Motor City squad can easily turn things around if they can finally get a serviceable performance from the Most Improved runner-up, Jalen Duren.
Beyond that, if the team's bench would finally show up in this series to help out Cade Cunningham, there's plenty of time to turn this series around.
Whether J.B. Bickerstaff considers a change to the starting five or pivots in his rotation minutes, it feels like the Pistons are one spark away from turning the tables.
The way the other playoff series in the East are unfolding, if Detroit can steal Game 4 and head back home tied 2-2, the nightmare offseason questions can be put to rest.
Add us as a preferred source on Google