The Detroit Pistons will start their NBA Cup schedule tonight against the Miami Heat, hoping to build some momentum for the rest of the season.
Response to the NBA Cup has mostly been “meh,” though there were some good games last season and results that should interest the young Pistons.
The LA Lakers ended up beating the Indiana Pacers in the championship, and even though the Pacers lost, their performance and specifically that of Tyrese Haliburton, were springboards for the rest of the season, which ended with them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Given that the Detroit Pistons haven’t played a meaningful basketball game in years, they too could use this year’s NBA Cup as a way to build momentum and confidence for the rest of the season.
I am hoping to see Cade Cunningham break out in the same way that Haliburton did last season, win a couple of games for his team to push the Pistons forward.
Here is the schedule and we will update the results as they come.
Detroit Pistons NBA Cup Schedule
The Pistons will play four games to start the Cup and then the rest of the schedule will be dictated by the results.
They play in East Group B, which suddenly doesn’t look as good as it did before the season started, though that can certainly change quickly given the teams involved.
Here is the full four-game schedule that starts tonight against Miami:
-11/12 vs. Miami Heat 7:00 PM ET
-11/15 @ Toronto Raptors 7:00 PM ET
-11/29 @ Indiana Pacers 8:00 PM ET
-12/3 vs. Milwaukee Bucks 7:00 PM ET
The surprising part of this group is that none of them have a winning record and that both Toronto and Milwaukee are struggling, with the Raptors at 2-9 and the Bucks at 2-8, which makes it a little more likely that the Pistons make some noise.
Can the Detroit Pistons win East Group B?
The Pistons do have some things falling into their favor when it comes to their chances from emerging from this group. Jimmy Butler will be out for tonight’s game against Miami. Even though Ausar Thompson won’t play tonight, the Pistons did get him back, so that is good news moving forward.
They played Miami tough in the first meeting this season, so there is a chance the Pistons could knock them off at home with their best player out.
The Raptors have stunk so far this season, not completely surprising, as they went into rebuild mode. There aren’t any easy games if you’re the Pistons, but I would at least categorize this one as winnable.
The Pacers are tough at home and are starting to bounce back from their tough start with a 5-5 record. But Detroit already played one close game against them, so who knows?
It would have been nice to catch the Bucks while they are struggling, as they might not be by the time December rolls around. Even if they are, they have owned the Pistons during the Giannis era.
But maybe the Bucks are still floundering, maybe the trade rumors get worse and maybe a raucous Detroit home crowd can will them to victory if there is something at stake.
These games aren’t as important for veteran teams that have been there (other than in the standings) but for Detroit, a strong showing in the NBA Cup could really help them build something positive for their season.
NBA Cup Standings: East Group B
Milwaukee 3-0
Detroit 3-0
Miami 2-2
Indiana 0-3
Toronto 0-3
Let's hope this is what the standings look like when the group stage is finished, as it would be amazing for the Pistons to make it out of this group into the knockout stage.
Detroit's big win over Indiana sets up a huge game vs. the Bucks that will decide the winner of East Group B.