The Detroit Pistons, in Year 5 of their rebuild, have looked like a much better team under the tutelage of veteran head coach Monty Williams. The underlying metrics may paint a picture of mediocrity for the Pistons, but that is already a marked improvement from their putrid play over the past few seasons. Now, there may be nowhere to go for the Pistons but up, especially with the talented young trio of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and defensive monster Ausar Thompson all making huge strides.
It will be interesting to see if the Pistons' improvements will lead to a good showing for them in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. The variance of outcomes in the Pistons' group, including the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers, is huge, as Detroit can go 2-2 just as easily as they can go winless. Whatever the case may be, expect them to put up a good fight especially as they get key players back from the injury report.
NBA In-Season Tournament format, explained
Each team will play a guaranteed four games, one contest apiece against every member of their group. This will both count as regular-season games and NBA In-Season Tournament contests. Only the top team of the group is guaranteed to advance to the knockout stage. Thus, there will be three teams from each conference to advance to the eight-team, single-elimination quarterfinals stage. Two teams would then round out the proceedings by virtue of qualifying via the wild card — the best non-group winning team.
All NBA In-Season Tournament games, apart from the championship matchup, will count towards a team's regular-season record. (The NBA has adjusted teams' schedules for the sole purpose of accommodating this new tournament.)
Pistons' In-Season Tournament Schedule, Opponents, and Bold Predictions
Game 1: Philadelphia 76ers
- Friday, November 10
- 7:00 PM ET
- Little Caesars Arena
The Sixers, for as long as Joel Embiid is in town, will not be an easy matchup. Embiid is arguably the most physical matchup in the league today, and on top of that, he is also comfortable in creating his own shot from the perimeter, stretching most big men defenders way past their depth. It will be interesting to watch how breakout star Jalen Duren copes with the physicality of the reigning MVP.
Moreover, the Sixers, despite having traded James Harden away, remain difficult to stop thanks to the emergence of Tyrese Maxey, while head coach Nick Nurse seems to have rejuvenated Tobias Harris and he has also maximized the skillset of Kelly Oubre Jr., a player the team signed for the veteran minimum.
The Pistons will have their hands full against the Sixers, even if Cade Cunningham does his best to prop up the offense. The Pistons should keep it close for most of the game, but expect the more experienced Sixers team to pull away in the fourth quarter.
Game 2: Atlanta Hawks
- Tuesday, November 14
- 7:00 PM ET
- Little Caesars Arena
This was a four-game series that the Hawks swept last season, with Trae Young and company having the Pistons' number all season long in 2022-23. It's important to note, however, that the Pistons did not have Cade Cunningham for two of those matchups, and Detroit has seen plenty of improvements from the rest of their young core since then.
Nevertheless, the Hawks, much like the Pistons, are improving at a rapid pace under head coach Quin Snyder as well. In the early goings of the season, the Hawks have the sixth-best net rating in the NBA, and the Hawks, with two days of rest before their tilt against the Pistons, should have plenty of firepower to defeat the Pistons rather easily.
Game 3: Cleveland Cavaliers
- Friday, November 17
- 7:30 PM ET
- Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
The Cavs have endured a bit of a rocky start to the 2023-24 season, but now that their core four players are healthy and rolling, they will be difficult to stop moving forward, which doesn't bode well at all for the Pistons' chances of securing a win in this matchup.
Ausar Thompson should be able to prevent a scoring outburst from Donovan Mitchell, but Darius Garland is due for some positive shooting regression; meanwhile, the Pistons don't have the marksmanship to stretch a stout Cavs defense, especially if Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, and Monte Morris are still injured by this point.
The Cavs should be taking this game quite comfortably, but expect a much-closer contest if the Pistons do get back some of their veterans from injury.
Game 4: Indiana Pacers
- Friday, November 24
- 8:00 PM ET
- Gainbridge Fieldhouse
The Pacers have been an enigma to start the new season; they have defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers twice and yet they have fallen on hard times against the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls, two teams that aren't exactly contenders in the Eastern Conference.
The season series between these two teams went 2-2 last season as well, although it's difficult to extrapolate evaluations from those games into this season since the two teams were missing their best players, Tyrese Haliburton and Cade Cunningham respectively, during three of those matchups.
However, given how terrible the Pacers' defense has been to start the year, the Pistons have a strong chance to end their inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament run on a high thanks to huge games from Cunningham and a motivated Jaden Ivey.
Final prediction: Pistons go 1-3, fail to make knockout stage