Pistons news: Injuries, body language and brewing mutinies vs. Heat
The Detroit Pistons are in a race with a fellow bottom feeder in the Eastern Conference to see which team can be the first to crack into double-digit wins.
The woeful Washington Wizards lost their 15th game in a row last night to drop to 9-52, a half game behind the pathetic Pistons, who also have nine wins to 51 losses.
The Celtics, who have also played 60 games, have nearly double the wins at 48 that the Pistons have had in the last two seasons combined if you were curious how close Detroit is to competing for anything other than lottery position.
Tonight they hit the road to take on the Miami Heat, who have won 8-of-10 to claw their way into the 7th seed in the East. The 7th seed is a full 25 games ahead of Detroit, so you can forget about parity, at least in the Eastern side of the NBA.
The Pistons are playing for future jobs and roster spots, but not much else, as they have all but sealed one of the three worst records in the league, but who will be playing tonight in Miami?
Pistons injuries vs. Heat: Is Quentin Grimes playing tonight?
The Pistons only have one name on their injury report, as Quentin Grimes is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game with a knee injury. Grimes has only played four games with the Pistons since being dealt from the Knicks at the trade deadline, not an ideal situation for a guy who figures to be part of the future rotation.
The Heat will be missing Josh Richardson, Kevin Love and Tyler Herro,
So the Pistons will get another shorthanded opponent, which is nothing new, as teams often use Detroit as a way to get their star players a bit of rest with little risk of losing the game.
It sounds strange but the thing to watch for tonight is body language and effort from the Detroit Pistons, who looked checked out in the last blowout against the Orlando Magic, which led to Monty Williams benching his starters.
I’m not saying there’s a mutiny brewing but it’s something to watch, as Williams has been terrible this season and if he loses the team completely, Tom Gores may be more inclined to eat the enormous amount of guaranteed money left on his contract this summer and once again look for a new coach.