Table of contents, click to jump to...
- Detroit Pistons injury updates
- Strength of the Pistons’ remaining schedule
- Pistons’ playoff odds
- Detroit Pistons’ depth chart for the home stretch
- Best and worst-case scenario for the Pistons
You’d be hard pressed to find fans more excited at the NBA All-Star break than those who support the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons won four straight heading into the break and currently sit alone in the 6th seed, just a game behind Milwaukee for the 5th seed, two games behind Indiana for the 4th and with 2.5 games between them and the 7th seed Magic.
If you would have told me this last season I wouldn’t have believed it. I might not even have believed it at the beginning of this one after the Pistons got out to a slow start.
But a lot can change in just a few months. The Pistons have an All-Star in Cade Cunningham, are getting stellar play from their veterans and young core and coach JB Bickerstaff is pushing all of the right buttons.
As Isaiah Stewart said recently, JB has this team “ready to run through a brick wall,” and as a fan, I agree. Point me at the wall.
But the Pistons do have a rough schedule to finish the season, and will have 27 games to prove themselves worthy of the playoffs. Here is everything you need to know heading into the 2025 All-Star break.
Detroit Pistons injury updates
Jaden Ivey remains the only Pistons player on the injury list. He did get some positive news in his last update, which is that he is walking around, able to put light weight on his leg.
He’ll be re-evaluated again at the beginning of March, so unless something miraculous happens, it’s doubtful we see him play again this season.
His absence hasn’t slowed the Pistons, but you have to wonder how much better they could be with him in the lineup. You also have to wonder how this injury is going to affect his extension status and whether we will see Ivey play for the Pistons again.
That’s not a wish, it’s just a possible outcome, as free agency isn’t great this summer, so if the Pistons want to make a big move, they are going to have to trade someone.
They could also just be patient and let this core develop, a strategy I am not necessarily against, as this team doesn’t really feel that far away, especially with a big leap from Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II coming.
The Pistons’ lack of injuries this season has been a big part of their success and something that Trajan Langdon clearly cared about when he acquired Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley, guys who rarely miss games.
After years of copious injuries decimating already bad rosters, it’s nice to see a team stay healthy. Let’s hope it continues.
Strength of the Pistons’ remaining schedule
Going strictly by win/loss record of opponents, the Pistons have the 18th most difficult remaining schedule in the NBA, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, as some of these teams theoretically improved at the trade deadline, so their records aren’t necessarily a reflection of where they are.
You can judge for yourself, but this is not a cake walk:
@San Antonio
@Atlanta
Vs. Clippers
Vs. Celtics
Vs. Nuggets
Vs. Nets
@Utah
@LA Clippers
@Golden State
@Portland
Vs. Wizards
Vs. Wizards
Vs. Thunder
@New Orleans
@Miami
@Dallas
Vs. Pelicans
Vs. Spurs
Vs. Cavaliers
@Minnesota
@OKC
@Toronto
Vs. Grizzlies
Vs. Kings
Vs. Knicks
Vs. Bucks
@Bucks
As you can see, 13 of the Pistons’ 27 remaining games are on the road, where they’ve been good this season with a 15-13 record overall.
They have two games apiece against the bottom-feeding Wizards and Pelicans, but also have two remaining with the Thunder and Bucks, and one with the Nuggets, Celtics, Cavaliers and Knicks.
Whether the Pistons make the playoffs outright will likely come down to how the fare against the mid teams like the Spurs, Hawks, Nets and Trail Blazers. With so many tough games remaining, and a murderer’s row of nine games to finish it, so Detroit absolutely cannot afford to lose to any of the bad teams on the schedule.
Several of them could be tanking (not sure what the Spurs are up to), which could benefit the Pistons, but they will have to take care of business if they want to hold onto the spot they currently have.
Pistons’ playoff odds
The Pistons are 4.5 games ahead of the 10th-seed Bulls, so they are very likely to at least get a play-in spot this season.
We all would have taken that at the beginning of the season, but let’s get greedy and make the playoffs.
According to FanDuel, the Pistons are –385 favorites to make the playoffs and have +290 not to make the final eight in the Eastern Conference, which means the books think they have a very good chance of making it.
Detroit Pistons’ depth chart for the home stretch
The Pistons’ rotation and depth chart hasn’t changed much since Jaden Ivey went out, but now with Dennis Schroder on board, Marcus Sasser has essentially been removed from the rotation.
Cade Cunningham/Dennis Schroder
Tim Hardaway Jr./Malik Beasley
Ausar Thompson/Ron Holland II
Tobias Harris/Simone Fontecchio
Jalen Duren/Isaiah Stewart
JB Bickerstaff has run a 10-man rotation for most of the season, and these are the two units they will go to war with in the final 27 games.
Sasser played decently when called upon, but Schroder has already proven himself to be a big upgrade in the second unit, as the offense has looked more organized and less chaotic in the half court.
Best and worst-case scenario for the Pistons
The best-case scenario for the Pistons is that they continue to roll behind a stifling defense, continue to get hot shooting and add to their win streak after the break.
They beat all of the teams they should, beat a few teams they probably shouldn’t and end up chasing down the Bucks for the 5th seed in the final two games of the season, setting up a bloodbath first-round playoff series against the Pacers that would likely give me a heart attack (I said best-case for the team, not me).
Worst-case scenario is that the Pistons’ schedule catches up to them and they lose a ton of games at the end of the season, dropping them to the play-in where they lose and don’t make the playoffs.
Given where we were last season, even the worst-case scenario is a big step forward for Detroit, but these final 27 games will have a big effect on how Trajan Langdon views the offseason.
Maybe he doesn’t have to make a big move. Maybe this team with Ivey back is close enough to just ride it out and use the improvement of young players as the big offseason addition.
Fall apart, and he will weigh options that include making a big trade, so it’s not hyperbole to say that these final games are paramount for the Pistons’ future one way or another.