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

The injury report is not doing the Detroit Pistons any favors. As they prepare to take on the Milwaukee Bucks, it appears Milwaukee’s two best players, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton have been upgraded to probable. Pistons starting point guard Killian Hayes, meanwhile, is out with a shoulder contusion.

That means Detroit’s top two point guards entering the season — Cade Cunningham and Hayes — are a no-go and the team is likely to rely on rookie Jaden Ivey to play the lead initiator and slot Saddiq Bey next to him in the back court.

When Hayes was suspended for three games, Ivey started at point guard and averaged 12 points on 36% shooting and 30% from three. He also averaged more turnovers (4.7) than assists (4.0). That was against Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit. Tonight, he’ll be matched up with Jrue Holiday. Good luck, rookie.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Bally Sports Detroit
Odds: Pistons +11

Projected Lineups

Milwaukee Bucks (29-17)

Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez

Detroit Pistons (12-36)

Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren

Pregame Reading

• Isaiah Livers’ Paris Diary: Becoming an opera fan, losing to the Bulls, and more — The Athletic
• Pistons mailbag: Breaking down trade ideas before deadline: Is there one that makes sense? — Detroit Free Press
• Speaking of mailbags, the Detroit Bad Boys podcast recently had a mailbag edition covering a number of topics.
• We also took a look at every Killian Hayes 3-pointer and assessed all 11 official Troy Weaver draft picks. Finally, we got a better sense of the trade market for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, and Detroit’s extremely high asking price.