After the Milwaukee Bucks’ win last night, the Detroit Pistons are now two games back of the 5th seed with three games to play.
Two of those games are against the Bucks, so the 5th seed is still technically in play, but it’s looking more like the Pistons will end up in the 6th unless something wild happens.
That would make the Knicks their opponent in the first round, which complicates the final three games even more, as the Pistons play the Knicks tomorrow.
Detroit will have to ask themselves some tough questions entering the final three games of the season.
How much do the Pistons want to show the Knicks?
The Pistons and Knicks have played three times this season, with Detroit winning two of them, so these teams are plenty familiar with each other already.
But given they are likely to meet in the first round, it will be interesting to see how the two coaches handle their rotations, especially since there won’t be much at stake.
Will JB Bickerstaff expose Cade Cunningham to further punishment and allow the Knicks to get a preview on how to stop him?
The Pistons can still catch the Bucks and the Knicks are still technically at risk from the Pacers, who are just two games back, so both coaches may just approach this as they would any other game, but it will be interesting to see if there is some gamesmanship around how the rosters are used.
Do the Pistons even want to overtake the Bucks?
All three of the Bucks, Pacers and Knicks are playing well right now, so it’s not like any of them offer a particular advantage to Detroit, who has lost four of five games.
But the Pistons may be content to play the Knicks in the first round, as they are the only of the three teams they have a winning record against this season.
And with several players banged up, we could see JB Bickerstaff hold some guys out against Milwaukee to ensure they are 100 percent going into the playoffs.
There’s a fine line between rest and rust though and Detroit would like to get back on track to have some momentum heading into their first-round matchup, so coach Bickerstaff has a lot of issues to balance.
I don’t think Detroit can get too cute here, as they want to have some positivity as the playoffs start, but they also don’t want to suffer any more injuries or give up too much of their game plan.