Andre Drummond attempting to evict Joel Embiid from the real estate in his head. A meeting with former Pistons Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovich. A clash of new vs old school point forwards in Ben Simmons vs Blake Griffin. Each one a story in a match up with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Or...
Renewing a Bad Boys rivalry, only this time with the Celtics point guard wearing #11. Another meeting with former Pistons Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes. A potential death blow to the future Kyrie Irving/Anthony Davis in a pairing. All in a match up against the Boston Celtics.
Or....
Malice at the Palace teams meet in the playoffs again. Just how good are the Pacers without Victor Oladipo? The battle of young centers Drummond and Myles Turner. Every one a must-see in a match up with the Indiana Pacers.
These are just a few of the many many story lines that await a Pistons team in a potential first round match up in the NBA Playoffs, that is of course if they manage to get back the 6th seed after losing it back to the Brooklyn Nets.
Going into the stretch run in the race for the eight playoff spots, the Eastern Conference finds itself in three tiers that should remain as such barring some sort of massive melt down by any team:
Tier 1 (spots one and two): Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks
Tier 2 (spots three to five): 76ers, Pacers, Celtics
Tier 3 (spots six to eight): three of Pistons, Nets, Heat, Charlotte, Orlando.
As we just looked at the remaining schedules of Tier 3, it’s only natural to want to keep an eye on the schedule of the teams we might be matching up with as well. So let’s take a look at Tier 2:
Philadelphia 76ers (42-25)
Remaining SOS: .457 (26th)
Home games: 5
Away games: 9
Back-to-backs: 2
Tue, Mar 12, 2019 vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Fri, Mar 15, 2019 vs Sacramento Kings
Sun, Mar 17, 2019 @ Milwaukee Bucks
Tue, Mar 19, 2019 @Charlotte Hornets
Wed, Mar 20, 2019 vs Boston Celtics
Sat, Mar 23, 2019 @ Atlanta Hawks
Mon, Mar 25, 2019 @ Orlando Magic
Thu, Mar 28, 2019 vs Brooklyn Nets
Sat, Mar 30, 2019 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Mon, Apr 1, 2019 @ Dallas Mavericks
Wed, Apr 3, 2019 @ Atlanta Hawks
Thu, Apr 4, 2019 vs Milwaukee Bucks
Sat, Apr 6, 2019 @Chicago Bulls
Tue, Apr 9, 2019 @ Miami Heat
Wed, Apr 10, 2019 vs Chicago Bulls
Philly has by far the easiest schedule based on SOS (Strength Of Schedule) of the three here, and currently sits at third place tied with Indy but possess the tiebreaker courtesy of winning the season series 3-1. Their home and away games with the first place Milwaukee Bucks are the only games they will play as the team with the worse record so yeah, relative cakewalk. The only other teams they’ll play who are even in the playoff hunt are the Celtics, the Charlotte, the Orlando, the Brooklyn and the Miami (once each). So if the Pistons do happen to secure the sixth seed this team is the one we’re most likely to see. Get your troll gear on DBB, and Dre, it’s put up (with Embiid) or shut up (Embiid) time.
Indiana Pacers (42-25)
Remaining SOS: .543 (6th)
Home games: 7
Away games: 8
Back-to-backs: 2
Tue, Mar 12, 2019 vs New York Knicks
Thu, Mar 14, 2019 vs Oklahoma City Thunder
Sat, Mar 16, 2019 @ Denver Nuggets
Mon, Mar 18, 2019 @ Portland Trail Blazers
Tue, Mar 19, 2019 @ Los Angeles Clippers
Thu, Mar 21, 2019 @ Golden State Warriors
Sun, Mar 24, 2019 vs Denver Nuggets
Wed, Mar 27, 2019 @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Fri, Mar 29, 2019 @ Boston Celtics
Sat, Mar 30, 2019 vs Orlando Magic
Mon, Apr 1, 2019 vs Detroit Pistons
Wed, Apr 3, 2019 @ Detroit Pistons
Fri, Apr 5, 2019 vs Boston Celtics
Sun, Apr 7, 2019 vs Brooklyn Nets
Wed, Apr 10, 2019 @ Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics (41-27)
Remaining SOS: .498 (15th)
Home games: 7
Away games: 7
Back-to-backs: 2
Thu, Mar 14, 2019 vs Sacramento Kings
Sat, Mar 16, 2019 vs Atlanta Hawks
Mon, Mar 18, 2019 vs Denver Nuggets
Wed, Mar 20, 2019 @ Philadelphia 76ers
Sat, Mar 23, 2019 @ Charlotte Hornets
Sun, Mar 24, 2019 vs San Antonio Spurs
Tue, Mar 26, 2019 @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Fri, Mar 29, 2019 vs Indiana Pacers
Sat, Mar 30, 2019 @ Brooklyn Nets
Mon, Apr 1, 2019 vs Miami Heat
Wed, Apr 3, 2019 @ Miami Heat
Fri, Apr 5, 2019 @ Indiana Pacers
Sun, Apr 7, 2019 vs Orlando Magic
Tue, Apr 9, 2019 @ Washington Wizards
Boston sits smack dab in the middle as far as SOS is concerned falling at number 15. Their games against potential playoff teams are away games at Philly, Charlotte, Brooklyn, Miami, and Indiana and home games against Denver, San Antonio, Indiana, Miami and Orlando. Being that their schedule looks less daunting than Indiana’s it’s quite possible they leap frog them to grab the fourth seed and home court against them in the playoffs. If they catch fire they might challenge the 76ers for third. In which case how would you feel about playing the hated Celtics and seeing a Boston point guard wearing #11? Would be hard to swallow but better if the Pistons sent them packing and in doing so substantially complicated their off season plans.