The last five years of Detroit Pistons basketball has been anything but “must-see” TV.
They’ve won 14, 17, 23, 20 and 20 games in that span, worst in the NBA and with few highlights worth mentioning.
It’s easy to look at the Pistons 2024-25 schedule and see more of the same, as the Pistons will be underdogs in most games and have to prove they are no longer one of the bottom feeders before anyone is going to believe it.
That includes most NBA sites, who predict the Pistons to be back in the 25-win range, which sadly would be their best season in over half a decade.
When I peruse the schedule these days, I am looking for narratives and drama more than wins, for spaces in the schedule where the Pistons could take off or stretches where they are likely to fall off.
My five must-see Pistons games of the season are not big matchups against title contenders, but those against possible peers, games with narratives that are either personal or will tell us about the direction of the franchise.
Here are five games you shouldn’t miss and why.
Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers: October 25th
The Pistons won’t have to wait long to get a possible revenge game, as they play new coach JB Bickerstaff’s old team in the second game of the season.
Bickerstaff was the coach of the Cavs for four whole seasons after taking over for 11 games in 2019-20.
He took a team that had won 19 games and immediately improved it, finishing with 22, 44, 51 and 48 wins in four seasons before being fired, some would say unfairly. Bickerstaff had the Cavs in the 2nd round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston while Cleveland was missing its best player.
It will be interesting to see what kind of response Bickerstaff gets from the Cleveland crowd, as he was a big part of the reason they turned things around but ultimately came up short in the playoffs.
Getting fired is part of the gig, and I am sure Bickerstaff understands the business, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be eager to hand his old team an “L” and serve notice that they have new competition in the Central Division.
Coach Bickerstaff’s young Pistons will want to get their new coach a win, and they’ll need it during an early 6-game stretch that could put them in a hole.
Detroit Pistons vs. Houston Rockets: November 10th
The Pistons aren’t likely to be hanging with the Boston, New York and Philadelphias of the world, so I am most interested in how they perform against teams that are closer to being peers.
Houston made the leap last season, have a ton of young talent and hope to be in the playoffs in this one, so they are well ahead of the Pistons.
But they will always be connected because of the Thompson Twins, who both had strong rookie seasons. Ausar was better early on before getting “Montied” by his coach and then suffering blood clots that prematurely ended his season.
Amen struggled early on and even played a short stint in the G-League, but he came on late and was amazing down the stretch, putting up big box score numbers and showing his prowess as a playmaker.
This should be a nice little rivalry for the Pistons, who are trying to make a similar leap as the Rockets made last season. Ausar wants to show he’s the superior twin and the Pistons want to show they are also an up-and-coming young team.
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic: January 1st
This game is important on the schedule for a couple of reasons: The first is that these two teams legitimately don’t like each other and have played some heated games over the last few seasons.
Orlando is another young team that made the leap last season, so much like with Houston, the Pistons will be out to prove they belong in this conversation.
This is also the first game after a tough four-game West coast road trip where the Pistons will play the Suns, Lakers, Kings and Nuggets.
This game against the Magic is the start of a five-game stretch where the Pistons will need to pile up wins against Orlando, Charlotte, Minnesota and Portland at home before traveling to Brooklyn to face the Nets, who might be the worst team in the NBA next season.
Given this is the month before the trade deadline, this is a crucial 9-game stretch that could determine which path the Pistons take in February. Will they try to add talent to make a run at the play-in or will they be selling off parts to complete their 6th-straight tank job in the home stretch?
Detroit Pistons vs. Charlotte Hornets: February 9th
This is the final game of a 6-game homestand and likely the last one before the 2025 trade deadline.
If the Pistons can stack a few wins here, who knows, maybe they’ll be buyers at the deadline for the first time in ages.
The Hornets are also the team closest to the Pistons in their development as a franchise, and they too are hoping to crawl out of the basement and join the ranks of actual NBA teams who try to win games and aren’t just lottery fodder.
This is a real chance for the Pistons to make a move past Charlotte, as they will immediately have a four-game road trip that has winnable games against the Bulls (x2), Spurs and Hawks.
Capping off a successful homestand against Charlotte could be a turning point in the season, and at the very least will likely tell us which direction they are headed.
Detroit Pistons vs. San Antonio Spurs: March 25th
Victor Wembanyama is going to be must-watch for the next decade or so, and hopefully, we’ll get to see a late-season matchup between him and Jalen Duren that has something at stake.
Like the Pistons, the Spurs are a young team hoping to put themselves into contention for the play-in at least, so this could be a crucial game. Of course, it could also be two teams tanking before the final month of the season, but I am hoping for the former.
Because of Wemby, the Spurs leapfrogged the Pistons in their team-building, especially when you consider the copious draft assets they still have.
It’s not going to be easy for Detroit to keep up, so this game will be a great test and also a full-on sign of what is going to come in April. Will we see more G-Leaguers, dubious “injuries” and tanking or will the Pistons actually be competitive?