Pistons vs. Wizards Preview: Detroit wraps up preseason looking to stay active, healthy

The Detroit Pistons wrap up preseason with another game against the Washington Wizards tonight. Typically in preseason, you’ve had a long training camp and more games to get enough of a look at everything on your roster. The last game is usually about playing some guys who never really see the floor to reward them for all their hard work. Will that be the case tonight? I have no idea. Dwane Casey is still trying to figure out a workable rotation, and says it might be a “few weeks” before a final rotation emerges. He is still onboarding a whole host of rookies and new players. He is still hoping specific player combinations are able to build chemistry with one other.

All of those are really important factors. But so is another one — staying healthy for when the real season begins. Whether that final metric wins out above all others and we suddenly see a ton of Dzanan Musa, Rodney McGruder and Saben Lee remains to be seen. I certainly wouldn’t hate if a bunch of the rookies got the lion’s share of the minutes in the second half.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m.
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Watch: NOT BROADCAST LOCALLY, NBC Sports Washington,
Listen: 97.1 FM The Ticket

Game Analysis

First, let’s cover the no-TV thing if you care. The game will not be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit, but I believe it will still be abiding by the rules of local blackout restrictions so even if you have NBA League Pass, I’m not sure you’ll be able to watch the Wizards feed.

Now, if you’re a Pistons fan who happens to live outside of the area you should be good to go. If you’re super desperate for your Pistons fix then you can always turn to 97.1 FM or you can go into the depths of online streams and see if you come back to tell the tale.

As for the game, it’s pretty simple. I want to see more from Josh Jackson, Sekou Doumbouya and Svi Mykhailiuk specifically. I’d love to see a few more of Killian Hayes’ shots go down. I’d like for Derrick Rose to seem a little less out of sorts with games right around the corner.

Everything else would be a cherry on top of the sundae. Give me tons of Isaiah Stewart so I can dream of him barging his way into the center rotation during the season. Give me plenty of Saddiq Bey so I can start to figure out how he can carve out a role on the team this season. Give me Saben Lee so I can see some insane dunk in the final game of the preseason.

According to Devidas Sirvydis’ Instagram, he has arrived in Detroit but I do not believe he has been cleared and is not expected to play tonight. So more Musa minutes, I guess?

Projected Lineups

Detroit

Killian Hayes, Delon Wright, Jerami Grant, Blake Griffin, Mason Plumlee

Washington

Raul Neto, Bradley Beal, Isaac Bonga, Mo Wagner, Thomas Bryant

Question of the Game

Who has been the most pleasant surprise this offseason?