Pistons news: The gap, 2 more games and a disturbing trend
No one was surprised that the Detroit Pistons couldn't hang with the Boston Celtics.
Detroit was missing several players, including Cade Cunningham, Simone Fontecchio and Ausar Thompson, and Isaiah Stewart had to leave the game after 17 minutes.
Even if the Pistons had been at full strength, the result likely would have been the same, as Boston was also sitting their best player.
It only takes a glance at the standings to see the widening gap between the best team in the Eastern Conference and one of the worst, but it's almost comical how far away Detroit is from actually competing for the conference.
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Yes, they are a young and rebuilding team, but Boston dispatched Detroit with such ease it's almost hard to believe that these two teams used to be rivals fighting at the top of the conference.
How many more games will the Detroit Pistons win?
The Pistons have 14 more games remaining and if they are as shorthanded as they were last night against Boston, they may not win any of them.
After home games against Indiana, Boston and New Orleans, the Pistons will hit the road for nine of their final 11 games, the most winnable of which will be a road game against Washington and at home against Memphis.
They will get a chance to potentially play spoiler in a home game against Chicago and a road game against Atlanta, who are both fighting for the last two play-in spots.
But if the Pistons continue to run out a team with Stanley Umude and Marcus Sasser in the starting five, we may not see more than a couple of wins in the remainder of the season.
Late-season injuries biting the Pistons again
One trend we didn't want to see this season is late-season injuries, as the Detroit Pistons have been plagued by them for several years.
Some of their previous homestretch injuries were definitely of the "tank" variety, but it's far more worrying to see Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson have to sit this late into the season.
That's not to mention Quentin Grimes, who has barely played for Detroit, making some of their offseason plans a little less clear.
It would be nice to get a handful more games with the team at full strength, but if we don't, things could get even uglier.
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