Pistons vs. Hawks GameThread: Game Time, TV, Odds, and More

The Detroit Pistons didn’t have much to hang their collective hats on in a dispiriting defeat at the hands of the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. Simply put, just about everyone played poorly, the team defense remains a mess and sharing the basketball was non-existent. Luckily(!), hopefully(!!!), the Pistons have a chance to right the ship immediately against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks are a good team, so it will certainly be an uphill climb. But the Pistons might be asking themselves if not not then when? Now, I will take you though a digression of the murder’s row that is the Pistons’ schedule through mid-December.

The Pistons face the Hawks twice in a row, both at Little Caesars Arena, tonight and Friday. After that, they face the Warriors, Bucks twice, Cavs, Thunder, Celtics, Knicks, Celtics and Raptors. Then the team starts a six-game West Coast swing that goes from the Clippers to the Lakers to the Kings, Nuggets, Jazz and finally the Suns.

The two most winnable games are against the Thunder and the Jazz (we won’t kick the Lakers while they’re down). But the Jazz are on the road and on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Pistons then get the comfort of a four-game home stand. Great! Except they will be hosting games against the Cavs, Knicks, Mavs and Grizzlies. Then they have a quick road swing where they play the Heat, Pelicans and Grizzlies again.

How many wins should be expected? Three? Four? It’s gonna get ugly. So they have to get some confidence-building wins while they can, and hopefully play a lot better than that Wizards game when they lose. It can all start tonight against Trae Young and the Hawks.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Bally Sports Detroit
Odds: Pistons +7.5

Projected Lineups

Atlanta Hawks (2-1)

Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, DeAndre Hunter, John Collins, Clint Capela

Detroit Pistons (1-3)

Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart

Question of the Day

What will Detroit’s record be over the next 24 games described above?