Pistons vs. Hawks preview: Detroit can’t look past Atlanta (even if I did)

Dewayne Dedmon’s 2016-17 season high in points and rebounds took place on a cold, (probably) snowy Auburn Hills, Michigan night last February:

As member of the San Antonio Spurs, Dedmon finished with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 17 rebounds.

Much has changed since Dedmon’s relative outburst, though. Most notably, he’s currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks—possibly the worst team in the league—while the Pistons moved to the city of Detroit and are now referred to as the Detroit Pistons (I think I have that right).

Game Vitals

When: November 10th @ 7 p.m. EST
Where: Little Caesars Arena - Detroit, MI
Watch: Fox Sports Detroit (League Pass)

There is a case to be made that Dedmon is Atlanta’s second-best player (which explains why they’re in the running for worst in the league) as Dennis Schroder is inarguably the Hawks’ most prolific player.

The 6-foot-1 point guard is now in his second full season as fulltime starter after spending his first three campaigns as the backup to Jeff Teague.

At 22 points per game, Schroder’s offensive assertiveness is similar to the aggression of Indiana Pacers’ Victor Oladipo - Detroit’s last opponent. While their games are completely different, the effort showcased by the Pistons’ PNR defense against Oladipo will be called on against Schroder:

Oladipo found little wiggle room to exploit and while he finished with 21 points, it took him 21 shots to do so. Over 47 percent of Schroder’s possessions end via the pick-and-roll which magnifies the importance of the Pistons’ PNR defense.

At 2-9, the Hawks don’t own much firepower on either side of the ball and if the Pistons impose their will then Atlanta is in for another long night.

****

That, uh, about wraps it up on the Hawks. Eventually, I think John Collins might be something (read Prava88’s scouting here) but not quite yet.

Well, this is knida awkward. Not sure how to run out the Pistons v. Hawks preview shot clock but I’ll give it a solid effort.

Has anyone seen any good movies lately? My people tell me Thor: Ragnarok is pretty good but I’ve also heard it tries too hard to be a comedy - any truth to that?

Oh, oh!

I watched All Nighter earlier this week. It has three of my favorite actors: JK Simmons, Emile Hirsh and Analeigh Tipton (who, if given a chance, I think we’d hit it off really well). Anyway, I’m a total sucker of “coming of age” movies which this flick plays to. Rotten Tomatoes certainly didn’t agree with me (yikes) but it’s short, has a couple laughs and stars Analeigh Tipton. I give it: 2 Snyder Stars.

((checks watch to see how much time is left))

We can all agree that Albert Einstein was a genius, right? Well, his brother Frank was a real monster! Hey-O!

*Final horn sounds*

That was rough.

Projected Lineups

Atlanta

Dennis Schroder, Luke Babbit, Dewayne Dedmon, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince

Detroit

Reggie Jackson, Avery Bradley, Andre Drummond, Reggie Bullock, Tobias Harris

Stanley Johnson (hip flexor), Jon Leuer (ankle) are both out

Stay tuned to the GameThread for injury and lineup updates.

Prediction

This has trouble written all over it, but I’m not letting myself believe it tonight!

Hawks 100, Pistons 104