The Detroit Pistons are 10 games away from completing a dream season that no one saw coming.
After winning just 14 games all of last season, Detroit has already notched 40 victories in this one and went from the bottom of the league to a 6th seed, just two games back from hosting a playoff series in the first round.
They got one step closer with a shorthanded win over the depleted Pelicans last night (shout out to Ron Holland II) and now hold a 4.5-game lead over the Atlanta Hawks for the final playoff position.
The magic number is down to six for the Pistons, but they still have plenty of work to do and may need some help to fend off the Hawks.
Detroit Pistons’ schedule vs. Atlanta Hawks
The Pistons have 10 games remaining, six at home and four on the road, but considering they’ve actually been better on the road this season, it shouldn’t matter that much.
Eight of their final 10 will be against teams headed to the postseason, including the Cavaliers at home and tough road matchups against the Timberwolves, Thunder and Bucks remaining.
Only the Spurs and Raptors remain as teams the Pistons should beat, but even those games won’t be easy ones.
The Hawks have 11 games, so have a chance to pick up half a game simply by having more left to play.
Seven of their final 11 are on the road, which is good news for the Pistons, as the Hawks are just 16-18 away from their home building.
They have tough matchups on the road against the Rockets, Heat (sort of) and Bucks and Pistons fans should be cheering for the home teams to take care of business, which would make Detroit’s job a lot easier.
But the Hawks have won three straight and seven of their last 10, so they are playing well at the right time and still have “easy” games left against the Trail Blazers, Jazz, Nets and 76ers.
The wild card is that they have to play the Orlando Magic twice, which could play into the Pistons’ favor, as the Magic are 6.5 games behind Detroit and less of a threat to catch them.
Atlanta and Orlando have split their head-to-head meetings so far this season and with play-in or even playoff seeding at stake, the two remaining games should be good ones that Pistons fans should probably hope go to the Magic.
The Pistons control their own destiny, so in the end, will be more worried about themselves than watching the scoreboard, but it would be nice to get help from teams like the Rockets, Heat, Bucks and Magic to make things a little less stressful in the home stretch.