Pistons Links: Detroit in for a tough test against the win-less at home T-Wolves

Andre Drummond, the Detroit Pistons' Elephant in Moon Shoes -- RollingStone

Have fun with this quick piece.

So, yes, the Pistons may be a fluke and their first 11 games may just be a random occurrence that has been twisted into a reductionist thread to fit a pleasing preconceived narrative about evolution and progress and all that other warm, fuzzy pap. But what if they're not? What if Reggie Jackson really is worth his monster contract? What if the joyfully multisyllabic Kentavious Caldwell-Pope truly is budding into one of the most stifling perimeter defenders in the league? The Pistons are young, and they may very well be good. They built their wall. But how high is it?

Scouting Report | Pistons vs. Wolves -- NBA.com

Dinwiddie vs. the very athletic and quick Zach LaVine should be fun to see. LaVine is also shooting the ball pretty well recently.  But this is going to be the sweetest matchup:

KEY MATCHUP: ANDRE DRUMMOND VS. KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS

This will be another test for Towns. Both Drummond and Towns have been rebounding machines so far this season.

Towns should be able to take Drummond out of the paint defensively with his outside shot. Drummond, on the other hand, scores almost exclusively at the basket.

No Pekovic to worry about this time.

LAST MATCHUP

The Wolves swept the Pistons in two games last season. The last game came on Feb. 8 in Auburn Hills. Minnesota won 112-101 thanks to 29 points from Nikola Pekovic. (Kevin) Martin added 24 points. Wiggins had a solid all-around game, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Wolves still looking for that elusive first home victory -- Star Tribune

There are possible explanations why the Wolves are 5-2 on the road and have won games at playoff contenders Chicago, Atlanta and Miami but have yet to win a game at Target Center. Even two teams with a combined 3-20 record — New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers — each have won a game at home while the Wolves wait on theirs.

Losses to Portland and the Heat came after emotion carried players and coaches through season-opening victories at Los Angeles against the Lakers and at Denver and a memorial service in the days after coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders died Oct. 25. The other three home losses came during the four-game stretch starting point-guard Ricky Rubio missed because of a hamstring strain.

Jamie: Pistons can go as far as Jackson takes them -- Detroit Free Press

In other words, Jackson has set the bar very high, and now we expect him to reach it every night. That's an impossible standard. That said, the best players in the league find a way to reach it more often than not. That's the challenge for Jackson as he looks to guide the Pistons into the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Jackson is almost the pure embodiment of the Pistons this season. He's talented. They're talented. He has a high ceiling. They have a high ceiling. He's inconsistent. They're inconsistent. Each time he takes the floor, he has it in him to win. They ... well, you get the picture.

So, Pistons fans, let's get real -- it's probably going to come down to a Kevin Martin jump shot at the horn. With all these young players, the relative oldster (32) will be the one to shine bright and break out of his abnormally long shooting slump. But, it won't go in for him at the horn.  A Pistons win just as I said!