The NBA trade deadline has passed. The Detroit Pistons didn't do anything else in addition to their Jose Calderon trade, so now we know their roster going forward more or less. The Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks both made moves to improve their teams, and combining that with the injury to friend of all children Andre Drummond, and any pipe dreams of the Pistons making the playoffs are pretty much completely dashed at this point. However, the show must go on. Detroit visits the Pacers, who held onto Danny Granger, tonight, and then they have four games in the next week.
After taking on the Pacers in Indiana tonight, tomorrow night they host that very same Pacers team. At home, I like Detroit's chances better of winning, but Indiana is really good, perhaps the second best team in the East, so I still think the Pacers manage to win. On Monday, the Pistons host Atlanta, who held on to Josh Smith. Atlanta is a better team, and they are going to make the playoffs, but this is a game Detroit could potentially win. I think this is close to a tossup, but I probably have to go with the Hawks.
Then, on Wednesday, the Pistons visit Washington. The Wizards have improved with John Wall's return, but Detroit is still a better team. These two squads played not that long ago, and the Pistons won soundly, but that was at the Palace. This will be closer, but I'm leaning toward the Pistons. Lastly, next Friday the Pistons are in New Orleans. The Hornets blew out the Pistons at the Palace recently, but they aren't that much better. If this was in Detroit, I'd take the Pistons, but on the road I'm going with the Hornets.
So, I'm going with the Pistons finishing 1-3 this week. However, I could also easily seem them going 3-1. Three of these games feel like tossups, and the Pacers game could definitely go Detroit's way as well. The Pistons are approaching the 60 game mark. Maybe they can add a few wins between now and then.
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