The Detroit Pistons cruised to an easy victory against the Washington Wizards, barely breaking a sweat as they held a double-digit lead for most of the game.
They might have expended more energy in the extracurricular activities of the game, as things got chippy several times, to the point that it seemed more like a playoff game than one featuring the worst team in the NBA.
I don't know what the Wizards are so salty about, maybe they feel betrayed that the Pistons abandoned them in the cellar, but the elbows were certainly flying.
Isaiah Stewart is usually at the center of the action, and was again last night, as he defended Marcus Smart in a way that Smart didn’t appreciate even though the refs didn’t call a foul.
There was some talking and Stewart returned to the bench, while rookie Ron Holland II took over and got in Smart’s face. The whole thing was silly, and if you watched, it looked like a miserable Marcus Smart was just trying to get himself thrown out of the game to avoid having to play for the Wizards. Can’t blame him there.
Beef Stew calmly returned to the bench, but upon a lengthy review (god I hate instant replay in basketball), Stewart was awarded a technical foul even though he seemingly did little but sit on the bench.
It was Smart doing the yapping, it was Smart who approached the Pistons’ bench as Stewart calmly sat there, yet Stew collected a T along with Smart.
It made little sense, but let’s face it, Stewart now has a reputation as a pot stirrer and is never going to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to getting T’d up. Refs are looking for a reason to give him one, which is something Stewart has to be aware of in the home stretch of the regular season.
As unfair as it sometimes is, Stewart needs to chill, as he has 13 technical fouls (3rd-most in the NBA) and will earn himself a suspension if he gets three more. The Pistons need Stewart, so he needs to behave himself for the next 16 games before the technical fouls reset in the playoffs.
Detroit Pistons: The NBA standings are somewhat misleading
The Pistons woke up in a virtual 3-way tie with the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers, with Detroit tallying one more win and one more loss than both teams.
This puts the Pistons percentage points behind them both, so you could look at it as a 3-way tie for 4th, but Detroit is still sitting alone in 6th. Even if their records were exactly the same, the result wouldn’t change, as the Pistons have already lost the tiebreakers to both Indiana and Milwaukee.
If Detroit wants to host a playoff series, they will have to be ahead of both of these teams, as they will lose any tie because of their head –to-head and division record against the Pacers and Bucks, respectively.
This might not be the worst thing. As I wrote about yesterday, the Pistons’ biggest strength also happens to be something the Bucks are great at stopping, so avoiding them in the first round wouldn’t be catastrophic, even if it means playing a higher seed.