Pistons face uphill climb in NBA Cup even after promising start
The Detroit Pistons are off to a better start and have treated fans to exciting games, as they’ve already played six that have come down to the last possession.
They are still undefeated in the NBA Cup and control their own destiny when it comes to making it to the knockout stage, which would be a great building block for this young team that has yet to play a meaningful game.
The Pistons beat the Heat in an overtime thriller and knocked off the depleted Raptors, but still face the best two teams in the group and may be doing it shorthanded.
Detroit Pistons: NBA Cup standings and scenarios
The Pistons can make this easy on themselves by simply beating the Pacers tonight on the road and then taking care of business against the Bucks at home. No problem.
A win tonight would set up the possibility of home-court advantage in the knockout stage, but a victory tonight would not guarantee anything.
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A split would leave the Pistons at 3-1, with tiebreakers for the wild card spot decided by point differential. Right now, the Pistons are only +6, lowest of any of the top teams in the Eastern groups.
The only way to guarantee a spot in the next round is by winning both of these games, which seems unlikely given the Pistons could be missing Cade Cunningham for one or both of them.
Lose both, and they are out. Lose one, and they are probably out, so the Pistons are still not in a comfortable position even though they are undefeated.
Will the Pistons have Cade Cunningham?
Cade Cunningham is listed as questionable for tonight’s game against Indiana and Tobias Harris has the same status.
The Pistons might be able to overcome losing Harris, but if Cunningham is out, you can probably write this one off, as Indian is a tough beat on their home court, where they have only lost twice in nine games.
The Pistons are living on razor-thin margins when they are at full strength, so any key injuries will likely submarine any realistic chances of advancing in the NBA Cup.
It would be great to see Cade back in there tonight, and for the Pistons to steal a momentum-building win on the road to set up a huge game with the Bucks on December 3rd with something at stake.
It will come down to health, taking care of the ball, and for some of the Pistons to start making shots, as their offense has struggled and will need to keep up with a high-powered Pacers’ squad.
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