A lot of the talk around the Detroit Pistons entering this season was about how they had too many centers. Now they don't have enough.
The truth is that the Pistons just had too many centers with overlapping skills, as none of them are great shooters or rim protectors and James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III are terrible on defense.
But they will miss some of them tonight. The Pistons are mired in a 20-game losing streak and now facing the prospect of going up against MVP Joel Embiid without their full complement of big men.
Pistons injuries: Is Marvin Bagley III playing tonight?
Jalen Duren and Marvin Bagley III have both been ruled out for tonight's game against the 76ers. Duren is out for at least two weeks with a sprained ankle and MBIII is day-to-day with back spasms.
The Pistons will also be without Monte Morris, who has yet to play this season.
So the Pistons are going to have their hands full against one of the best centers in the league, with only Isaiah Stewart and James Wiseman to try and check him.
Embiid is no stranger to having monster games against Detroit, as he has averaged 28.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 16 games against the Pistons, so he must be licking his chops with the idea of James Wiseman trying to defend him for part of the game.
The Pistons had some success going small in the last game against Indiana, as there was more spacing, the offense moved the ball better and they shot well as a team with only one big on the floor. But they did get killed on the boards which I think we can expect again tonight against the 76ers.
It's going to take a team effort to stop Embiid and to keep Philly off the glass, so the Pistons are going to need everyone, including the guards, to be in the paint snatching rebounds.
The only advantage they will have is playing fast, so the Pistons will need to try and get out after each stop and hope their bigs can beat Embiid down the floor.
Philly is 29th in the NBA in fast break points allowed, so this could be an area where the smaller, quicker Pistons can find an advantage. Philadelphia has the 10th-ranked defense overall, so if this ends up being a half-court slugfest, you can expect the losing streak to hit 21 tonight.