The Detroit Pistons will play their second game of the NBA Cup group stage tonight against the Raptors in Toronto.
The Pistons won their first NBA Cup game in a wonky thriller over Miami and hope to keep it rolling to stay undefeated. You can find the Pistons' full NBA Cup schedule, results and standings here.
The Raptors are one of the only teams the Pistons have a winning record against over the last five seasons, going 8-5 overall including 2-1 last year when the Pistons only won 14 games.
At 2-10 currently, the Raptors have the worst record in the NBA and are going through some rough times with a slew of key injuries.
This is a game the Detroit Pistons absolutely have to win, especially after blowing a very winnable one against the Bucks in the previous outing.
But the Raptors won’t be the only team missing key players, as the Pistons have plenty of injury woes of their own.
Pistons injuries vs. Raptors
The Pistons will be missing Bobi Klintman and Ausar Thompson. Thompson is still getting into game shape after being cleared to play and there is no timetable on Klintman, who has some type of mysterious calf injury that was once called a “contusion,” so who knows.
Jaden Ivey is listed as questionable as he is still nursing a toe injury and both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Simone Fontecchio are listed as doubtful.
If you think that’s bad, here is Toronto’s injury list for tonight: Ja’Kobe Walter, Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk have all been ruled out for tonight’s game and DJ Carton is day-to-day.
The Pistons can’t take Toronto lightly just because they are missing key players, as they will get beaten by anyone on any night if they don’t focus and bring energy.
How to watch Pistons vs. Raptors
Tonight’s 7:00 PM ET tip-off in Toronto will be televised on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit or you can listen on ALT 98.7.
For those of you without cable, you can find all of the Pistons’ streaming options here.
Keys to the game for the Pistons against the Raptors
DON’T. LET. UP.
The Pistons have had big leads disappear regularly of late, including in the last game against the Bucks.
The Bucks were a desperate team with an MVP candidate while the Raptors are tanking with a depleted roster, but if the Pistons get a lead, they have to keep their foot on the gas and not allow it to disappear.
They can’t go through stretches where they lose focus and don’t take care of the ball and allow the Raptors to get easy buckets in transition. The Pistons have been agents of chaos lately, so the key to this game is giving a focused, controlled and consistent effort for 48 minutes.
The second key is shutting down Gradey Dick, who has been outstanding this season. He’d probably be the runaway frontrunner for Most Improved Player if the Raptors didn’t have the worst record in the NBA and might get some consideration anyway, as he is averaging over 20 points a game after only getting eight as a rookie.
The Pistons need to force him to give up the ball, play in his chest and get physical with Dick, which is a sentence I never hoped to write.
The Pistons should win this game, another sentence I’ve not written much over these last years, so they have to play a smart, professional game and not make any boneheaded blunders.