The Detroit Pistons have clinched their first division title in 18 years but have one more major regular-season carrot to chase: The top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, which the franchise hasn’t had in 20 years. The Pistons’ magic number for that is just two ahead of hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 7 p.m. ET tip streaming on Prime Video. Thus, it’s possible Detroit goes into semi-shutdown mode after tonight to get fully healthy for the postseason.
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I will in part use this space to also address NBA Coach of the Year odds, and that appears a done deal with Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff as the -280 favorite and Boston’s Joe Mazzulla sitting +300. No one else is below +1100. Who would even vote for Mazzulla after this week he labeled the award “stupid” and “dumb,” suggesting the league should not even have one?
The Pistons’ last COY winner was Rick Carlisle in 2001-02. What I don’t know about Bickerstaff, in his second season with the club, is how he might treat the rest of the regular season when his club clinches the top seed – which may have occurred by the time the Pistons return to the floor Saturday in Philadelphia.
With superstar Cade Cunningham already injured and out the rest of the regular season, would Bickerstaff keep the pedal to the metal or ease up and start giving guys games off? That would seem the smart move. Not too long ago, Detroit actually had passed Oklahoma City for the NBA’s best record and potential top seed throughout the entire playoffs and not just the East.
The Pistons were attempting to become the first club from MLB, the NBA, NHL or NBA since the 1990-92 Atlanta Braves to go from the worst record to the best in two seasons or fewer. Cunningham’s injury essentially wrecked that chance. Two seasons ago, Detroit finished 14-68 and lost a league record-tying 28 straight games.
The only reasoning I could see for pushing hard to the end would be to try to catch San Antonio for the NBA’s No. 2 overall record and then own home-court advantage in the Finals against everyone but OKC. Alas, that’s very unlikely, as Detroit sits three games back and the Spurs holding the tiebreaker via season sweep. So I’ll be fading the Pistons plenty down the stretch.
There has been one major bright spot with Cunningham going down as Detroit may have have found a diamond in the rough in point guard and former undrafted free agent Daniss Jenkins, who started the season on a two-way contract. He has been fabulous since replacing Cunningham, averaging 18.6 points and 6.9 assists.
Do I expect the Pistons to win the East? I do not. In the NBA, teams generally have to experience playoff success one level at a time. Detroit returned to the postseason last year for the first time 2019 and lost in the first round to the Knicks. The franchise hasn’t won a round since 2007-08, which had been the season of its last division title.
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Minnesota has Western Conference playoff seeding reasons to care the rest of the way, as it could conceivably finish anywhere from fourth to sixth, where it sits now. Fourth would be the goal to get first-round home-court in the playoffs, and the Wolves are two games behind No. 4 Denver. You can bet at FanDuel which seed a team earns, and the Timberwolves are +1200 for the No. 4, +240 for the No. 5 and -260 favorites for the No. 6.
Superstar Anthony Edwards returned from about two weeks on the sideline due to knee soreness in Monday’s win over Dallas but didn’t start, only because he had to use the bathroom. Seriously. Edwards, who had 17 points, checked in after 2:01 elapsed and entered that needing to play in every remaining Wolves game to meet the league’s 65-game minimum for eligibility for All-NBA consideration. So you won’t see him resting the rest of the way if healthy.
Edwards has three 50-point games in his career, and he scored 53 in a loss to Detroit on Jan. 4, 2025. He’s questionable tonight, which rather put this pick in flux. “Ant” has been listed questionable a lot this season and still played; he is listed at Over/Under 25.5 points.
The Wolves already are without another key guy in forward Jaden McDaniels, who is week-to-week due to a left knee patella tendinopathy and a bone bruise. He’s averaging 14.8 points, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks this season and is Minnesota’s best perimeter defender. Note this is the front of a back-to-back for Minnesota, as it visits Philly on Friday. The team is 7-5 SU in the front end this season.
Detroit cruised to a 109-87 win Saturday in the Twin Cities with Tobias Harris leading seven Pistons double-digit scorers with 17 points. Sans Edwards, Minnesota got 22 points from Donte DiVincenzo but no more than 14 from anyone else. The Wolves shot a season-low 32% (27 for 85) from the field.
Pick: I’ll expect Edwards to play because of that 65-game rule, but since I’m not totally sure I’ll take a flyer on a Pistons win margin of 1-10 points at a nice price of +175 via FanDuel. Minnesota should put up a fight after being embarrassed in the last meeting, and the Wolves don’t lose by double digits often. Check out other expert picks in the daily newsletter.
