The Detroit Pistons will be dealing with a heavily shorthanded Indiana Pacers squad tonight
Entering tonight’s game with the Indiana Pacers in town, the Pistons already had a boost from welcoming Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart back into the mix recently, but the team’s fortune improved even more ahead of tip-off tonight.
While the Pacers have won four of the last five games, which is by far the team’s high-point of the season, Indiana received a rough batch of injury news in an update before the game begins at 7:30 pm in Motown.
The Pacers will be without Pascal Siakam (rest), Aaron Nesmith (rest), Andrew Nembhard (injury management) and T.J. McConnell (injury management) for tonight’s tango in Detroit.
Ahead of this Central Division battle, Pistons Roundtable had highlighted Pascal Siakam as the player to watch from the Pacers’ perspective, but given his absence tonight, Indiana will be forced to look for an alternative path to victory, although the deck will be stacked against them.
With point guard Tyrese Haliburton out indefinitely, the four-man contingent has been looked at as the team’s core with the All-Star still recovering from a torn Achilles. With that impactful group out of the lineup, Indiana is going to be shorthanded on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, so the Pistons need to capitalize on their fortune tonight.
The Pistons, on the other hand, have a relatively clean bill of health at the moment. Ausar Thompson is dealing with a heel issue after an awkward sequence during Detroit’s most recent game against the Suns two days ago. In the second half, Thompson rolled his left ankle briefly and used his right leg to plant and stabilize himself, but Ausar jammed his foot a bit, and the result is a contusion on his heel, though it is not expected to hold the dynamic defender out of tonight’s game.
For the Pistons, Paul Reed may possibly rejoin the lineup tonight after missing the home game against Phoenix due to personal reasons, but his status will become more clear about an hour before tip-off.
With a victory tonight, the Pistons would move to 3-0 on the season against Indiana, who has long served as a bitter rival in the Central.
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