The most common saying when it comes to the NBA Playoffs is that a series doesn't officially begin until a road team wins a game. For the Detroit Pistons, their Game 1 loss officially offered a harsh reality of where things stood moving forward.
Following another loss over the weekend, Detroit now enters Game 4 clinging to one last playoff lifeline they can't afford to break if they hope to turn things around.
That lifeline? Yet another old saying suggests that a playoff series doesn't start until a team loses consecutive games.
As of now, the Pistons haven't lost back-to-back games, which offers hope that there's still a path for the No. 1 seed to flip the script in this series and avoid the first-round upset that would shake up the entire outlook of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
All that to say, if Detroit hopes to keep their championship aspirations alive, winning Game 4 isn't an option; it's a necessity.
Pistons can't lose Game 4 under any circumstances
It feels like the obvious thing to state the Pistons can't afford to lose on Monday night, but it's deeper than the hole a 3-1 deficit leaves them in.
If Detroit can find a way to steal a win on the road, they put themselves back in the driver's seat of this series, heading back to the Motor City with homecourt advantage back on their side.
Tying this series at 2-2 would give the Pistons the chance to essentially win a best of 3 series, with two of those games coming in front of their home fans.
By keeping their lifeline alive, Detroit would essentially keep their playoff hopes alive, considering coming back from a 3-1 deficit is an extremely uncommon achievement in today's NBA.
Fortunately for the Pistons, this position seems to be one that J.B. Bickerstaff's squad thrives in.
Detroit thrives with their backs against the wall
When Cade Cunningham went down with a collapsed lung, Detroit flipped the narrative from doubt to confidence by putting together multiple impressive performances.
After falling in Game 1, Detroit bounced back in a major way with a statement win in Game 2, suggesting they're more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the Magic.
Now, entering Game 4 in a do-or-die situation, this is the perfect recipe for Bickerstaff's team to prove how dangerous they can be with their backs against the wall.
Detroit has the chance to even this series up, and it won't be a shock to swing this first-round matchup back in their favor ahead of Game 5.
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