Pistons must slay one playoff demon immediately

Even though the Detroit Pistons lost in the first round of the playoffs last season, it was still considered a roaring success after winning just 14 games the year before. The Pistons were even able to push the heavily favored Knicks to six games, but one thing was missing: A win at home. 

Detroit was able to beat New York twice in Madison Square Garden but weren’t able to treat the Pistons fans to a win in Little Caesar’s Arena, something they need to immediately change tonight against the Orlando Magic.

It’s been a long road to a home win for the Pistons 

The Pistons have not won a home playoff game since May 2008, when they beat the Celtics in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals. 

They’ve never won a home game in Little Caesar’s Arena, as the last home playoff win was still in the Palace of Auburn Hills. 

It’s been nearly two decades since the Pistons have given their home fans a playoff win, and in that time, they’ve been one of the worst teams in the league. The Pistons have already changed the latter, but now it’s time to secure a win at home. 

The Pistons have to get the monkey off their backs 

Defending the home court is paramount to a deep playoff run, especially when you’re the number one seed and will have home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

The urgency to get a home playoff win for the fans has been weighing heavily on the Pistons, who have mentioned it many times throughout the season. It was clear they were disappointed in how things went at home in the playoffs last season. 

There will be pressure on them tonight, but the Pistons can’t let that get to them, and it would help to have a raucous crowd behind them. Nerves will be there until the home demon is slayed, so the Pistons need to put together a convincing win tonight. 

The Pistons have dominated at home 

Last season, the Pistons had identical home and away records of 22-19, but this year, they went 31-9 at home for the best record in the East. 

They will also head into this year’s playoffs with a little more experience under their belts after going through a big playoff series last season. This won’t be the same team, but there will also be increased expectations this season, when they are expected to win their first round series and aren’t the plucky underdogs. 

They’ve already proven they can win in one of the toughest buildings in the NBA (Madison Square Garden), but to make a deep playoff run, they have to have a true home court advantage, which starts by getting that first win at home with all of Detroit behind them. 

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