The NBA schedule is set to come out sometime next week, and it will be interesting to see how the Detroit Pistons are treated after winning 60 games and finishing atop the Eastern Conference in the regular season last year.
After making the leap to 44 wins, Detroit was rewarded last season with 16 nationally televised games, though this is a bit of a misnomer, as I am not sure you can call something on Amazon Prime a “nationally televised” game.
Only two of the games were actually on what I would consider a “national” network, and the Pistons were once again snubbed on Christmas Day even after their wholly entertaining playoff series against the Knicks, which many felt would earn them a spot on the league’s biggest day.
The Pistons should be rewarded after winning 60 games and doing it in exciting fashion, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all if they were still left out.
An average Pistons game
I don’t know if there was a team in the NBA over the last two seasons that has had more exciting and weird games than the Pistons.
The phrase “average” Pistons game was used sarcastically last season, as nearly half of their games were decided by five points or fewer and most of them were far from average.
They also feature a superstar, first-team All-NBA player in Cade Cunningham to go along with an exciting supporting cast that features a couple of elite athletes that like to fly up and down the floor.
Even though they were a defense-first team last season, they were still exciting to watch, and people who made them one of their League Pass favorites weren’t disappointed.
The Pistons don’t flop, they play hard-nosed basketball and are led by an “ethical” superstar, which is everything the league claims it wants, so they should reward the Pistons with more nationally televised game and maybe, finally a spot on Xmas day again.
The Detroit Pistons on Christmas Day
The Pistons have appeared on Christmas Day 32 times but haven’t been featured on that day since 2005.
Detroit was a regular for years, as they had some of the most exciting and marketable rivalries, but a long stretch of being terrible made everyone seemingly forget that the Pistons are one of the most storied franchises in the NBA.
Last season should have earned them a bump, but I’ll be surprised if it happens.
There are too many compelling stories in the NBA
We know LeBron will play on Christmas Day, as he has done every year of his career, so you can pencil in the 76ers, who will almost certainly play the Celtics or Knicks.
If it’s 76ers vs. Celtics, then the Pistons may have a chance to sneak in and play the Knicks, which was a matchup everyone wanted last season. The NBA really missed an opportunity to build that rivalry but could redeem themselves this year.
The league will also likely try and work Giannis and his new look Miami Heat into the mix, and then you have the Western Conference, which will likely feature even more teams. The top four from last year will get consideration, and then you have the Timberwolves, who just added LaMelo Ball.
It will be a tough group for the Pistons to crack, but let’s hope the league was paying attention last season, as Detroit was one of the most interesting teams in the league, even if they weren’t featured in all of the headlines.
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