Pistons vs. Warriors preview: Two teams missing Star guards

The Pistons take on a short-handed Warriors team, missing Steph Curry, while the Pistons are without Cade Cunningham, who will be out for at least the next two weeks with a collapsed lung. It will be the battle of the backups as the Pistons face the Golden State Warriors for the final time this season.

The Pistons got off to a strong start to their first game without Cade last night against the lowly-Wizards, but a 2nd quarter collapse turned it into a tight game before the Pistons pulled away late. The 2nd quarter collapse came on the heels of a stretch of very sluggish offense combined with defensive lapses. The sluggish offense is going to be par for the course without Cade Cunningham, but the Pistons are going to have to tread water on the strength of their defense, so they need to stay consistent on that end.

Luckily, without Steph Curry, the Warriors are not quite the level of offense that puts fear into opposing teams. This is one of the more winnable games left on the Pistons schedule, so getting a win tonight before a stretch of tough games is very important.

Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
When: Friday, March 20 at 7:30 pm EST
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons (-5.5)

If you bought tickets for this game back in September expecting to watch Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler play their one game in Detroit, you are probably pretty disappointed. Jimmy Butler is out for the season with a torn ACL and Steph Curry is dealing with a knee injury and remains out for a few more days.

It leaves a shell of a Warriors team with role players having to step into larger roles than were initially planned for them before the season. It is similar to what the Pistons are dealing with as they navigate the last few weeks of the season without Cade Cunningham.

I won’t try to argue that Cade Cunningham by himself is a bigger loss than both Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, but the Pistons rely on Cade Cunningham so much to bring their offense to at least league-average levels and having to now navigate an important stretch of games for seeding purposes without him is a huge blow. But, there is a reason the Pistons are first in the East and it isn’t just because of Cade Cunningham. They have some very good players around him that can hopefully step up to keep the team afloat.

So far, the Pistons backups have passed the test as they defeated the Washington Wizards last night by 22 points. It wasn’t pretty at certain points and not really a huge statement given the fact that the Wizards are playing for draft positioning, but it was a nice trial run against a lesser team before hitting the ground running over the next couple weeks for the Pistons with a pretty brutal stretch of games.

The hero in last night’s game was Caris LeVert, who had one of his better games as a Piston with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. There is no one player that is going to be able to replace the production of Cade Cunningham, but having players like LeVert and Kevin Heurter step up like they did last night can go a long ways towards keeping the 1st seed in the East.

One important thing for the Pistons, that we really haven’t gotten a ton more clarity on, is that Jalen Duren left last night’s game in the 3rd quarter and did not return. JB Bickerstaff didn’t seem to think he was injured after the game, so him not coming back in may have had to do with how well Paul Reed was playing and the fact that the game was out of hand halfway through the 4th. He is not currently listed on any injury reports, so who knows what is going on.

Duren is so important for the Pistons right now without Cade Cunningham as he is the one player left on the team that can take over a game and carry the scoring load. It isn’t always the most pretty, but it isn’t all just lobs created by Cade Cunningham, he absolutely can create his own shot a bit and that will be put to the test the next few weeks.

Without Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, the Warriors don’t really have anybody to take over the scoring load night-to-night, which is why they find themselves in the Play-In battle.

They have a few guys that can put the ball in the basket, like Brandin Podziemski and Kristaps Porzingis, but neither player are the kinds of players you are game planning and scheming around on a nightly basis. Porzingis can shoot the ball from outside and Jalen Duren does struggle a bit with defending bigs that can shoot, so that could be a potential source of offense if Duren is good to go.

Outside of those two, it is a lot of role players that will have to play above their usual level to win this game for the Warriors. Gui Santos is one player who always seems to have his best games against the Pistons, so they will need to look out for him.

With the current state of their roster, there really are not a ton of games in which the Pistons should be expected to win as they close out the season. They are still capable of beating any team in the league if they lock in on defense, but without their offensive engine, scoring could be a struggle. Just enjoy the ride and hope that a few players can step up enough and gain JB Bickerstaff’s trust for playoff minutes in the process.

Detroit Pistons (50-19): Daniss Jenkins, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Golden State Warriors (34-38): Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis

How many games do you think the Pistons need to win down the stretch to keep the number 1 seed in the East?