Pistons Vs. Sixers Preview: Chance To Keep Momentum Going Against Short-handed Sixers

The Pistons got back on track in a huge way on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets. It was overshadowed by other happenings in the NBA, but the Pistons were able to end their season-long four game slide with a 38 point win against the lowly Nets. It was clear from the opening tip that the Pistons were not going to be blowing a 23-point lead against the Nets again.

Now, they have a chance to continue the positive momentum they have going against a Philadelphia 76ers team that will be without Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid. It won’t be a walk in the park, but it will be much easier for the Pistons to impose their will defensively when the big offensive threats for the Sixers are missing.

The Pistons will once again be without Ausar Thompson, but they might get Caris LeVert back from his wrist injury which I am not sure is a good or bad thing at this point.

Game Vitals

Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
When: Thursday, March 12 at 7 pm EST
Watch: Prime Video
Odds: Pistons (-14.5)

Analysis

There isn’t a whole lot to say about the Philadelphia 76ers given the current state of their roster. They are coming off a win over the Memphis Grizzlies, but given the season the Grizzlies are having that isn’t saying a ton about their ability to play without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.

Maxey is the biggest loss out of the three as he is 4th in the NBA in scoring while also leading in minutes played. He has been their engine this season and the star that has been consistently available, so his loss for the next 3 weeks with a finger injury is a huge one. The 76ers currently hold the 8th spot in the East and aren’t really in danger of falling out of the Play-In Tournament at least, but the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks have been playing some good basketball the last couple weeks and very well could catch them if the 76ers are unable to string together a few wins without their best players.

With their “Big 3” missing, the 76ers are forced to rely a lot on rookie VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Kelly Oubre to carry most of the scoring load. They were able to do it against the Grizzlies on Tuesday with some help from Cam Payne, but they definitely are not on the level of Maxey, Embiid, and George in terms of consistently carrying the scoring load for a competitive team.

Kelly Oubre will be out tonight as well, so that is one less offensive threat the Pistons have to deal with. Oubre, in particular, always seems to have his better games against the Pistons so it will be a pretty big loss for the Sixers.

I just don’t see anywhere the Sixers are going to get the necessary offensive punch that they need to win this game, unless Cam Payne replicates what he did against the Grizzlies where he had 32 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field and 8-8 from beyond the arc.

Tuesday’s win against the Nets was an important one for the Pistons as they got the monkey off their back of the 4-game losing streak, but more importantly, got back on track as a team defensively. The Pistons are never going to be great in their halfcourt offense with their current roster, but they can score enough through tough defense and scoring in transition and both of those things went away during the losing streak. Obviously, the Nets are not a great team, but seeing yourself put together a dominant performance on defense after struggling for over a week does a lot for confidence as a team.

The Pistons don’t really blow out teams a ton, but they have been able to get the job done this year against lesser teams, especially when those teams are short-handed. So, I would expect a similar level of engagement as what the Pistons had against the Nets. The 76ers have a bit more experience in the backcourt than the Nets, so turnovers will be tougher to come by, but it is the Pistons’ bread and butter so they will find a way.

I could see a game where the 76ers hang tough early-on, but the Pistons ultimately overwhelm them and take control during the 2nd half.

Lineups

Detroit Pistons (46-18): Cade Cunningham, Marcus Sasser, Duncan Robinson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Philadelphia 76ers (35-30): VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, Trendon Watford, Dominick Barlow, Adem Bona

Question of the Day

Does the Pistons losing streak concern you or was it just a late-season lull that many teams deal with during a long season?