This has been nothing short of a dream season for the Detroit Pistons.
After years of utter futility and hopelessness, Detroit has emerged out of nowhere into the playoff hunt behind a huge leap from Cade Cunningham that should get him some consideration for 1st-team All-NBA.
Everything has just clicked, from the veterans Trajan Langdon acquired to the head coach he hired to lead them.
The Pistons have mostly avoided the injury bug, didn’t disrupt their roster chemistry at the trade deadline and have built the type of ego-less and entertaining squad that Pistons fans deserve.
Then you have the Dallas Mavericks, who entered the season with dreams of a championship that have turned into a nightmare.
They inexplicably traded their franchise cornerstone for no good reason.
And if losing Luka Doncic in his prime wasn’t enough for their fans, just about every player on their roster has been injured at some point this season, including the guy they got in the Luka trade.
I don’t know if two fanbases could have more disparate experiences in a season, as Pistons fans are walking around cheesing and Mavs fans are wondering if they should find a different team to support.
It wasn’t what either group expected at the beginning of this season and Mavs fans probably feel like they were ripped off.
Speaking of getting ripped off....
Read and think before you react
Yesterday, a “parody” account posted a made-up rumor about the Detroit Pistons and Devin Booker, and as per usual, many people fell for it.
I'm not going to link it, or the many silly reactions, but a couple of actual sports “news” reports featured it and had real NBA players on to comment, which is both shameful and embarrassing for everyone involved.
It’s indicative of a larger problem in the media landscape where people react on social media instantly before taking a second to read or think about what they are reacting to.
I get this almost every day, with one or two readers angrily reacting to one of my articles only to paraphrase what I said, showing me that they didn’t read it and just wanted to be mad about something.
I've never understood how people have the energy and time to comment on things they haven't read.
It’s exhausting.
We’ve all been fooled by these fake accounts in the past, but try to take a second and read what you are getting so mad about, take a look at who posted it and make sure it’s from a source you trust.
This is one of the primary reasons social media has devolved into a cesspool of misinformation, as people let their emotions override their intellect. It’s bad enough to see fans spreading this stuff but when actual news reports are featuring things which are clearly fake, we have a problem. Lecture over.
Pistons injuries vs. Mavericks
The Pistons are still just missing Jaden Ivey, so nothing has changed on that front.
It would be easier to list the Mavericks who are playing tonight, as their roster is decimated to the point that they nearly had to forfeit a game. They will be missing:
-Anthony Davis
-Dante Exum
-Daniel Gafford
-Kyrie Irving
-Dereck Lively II
-Caleb Martin
-Oliver-Maxence Prosper
The Mavs also have Brandin Williams listed as probable.
How to watch Pistons vs. Mavericks
The game doesn’t tip off until 8:30 PM ET and you can watch on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit or listen on 97.1 FM The Ticket on the radio.
There are also a number of streaming options available including NBA League Pass (if you live out of market) or Amazon Prime if you have the add-on.