Heading into tonight’s game, the Detroit Pistons are riding an active four-game winning streak and remain in first place of the Eastern Conference at 32-10. The Pistons’ opponent tonight, the Houston Rockets, have built a 26-16 mark just past the midway point and have short rest after playing an overtime game in Philadelphia last night. 

The Pistons had to win their last game without All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham in the lineup, and Detroit may have to walk a similar path tonight as the clever playmaker is currently listed as questionable. Cunningham, however, has a lot of company on the injury report from both Pistons and Rockets players alike, so it will be important to monitor Cade’s status before the game begins. 

Of course, any time that the Rockets and Pistons square off, it represents another opportunity for Ausar and Amen Thompson to battle head-to-head. When Detroit beat Houston at the start of the regular season, the two twins were not assigned to each other too often, so it will be interesting to see if tonight’s game will be another chapter in a longstanding friendly rivalry between the two brothers. 

Over their last five games, the Rockets have had a difficult strength of schedule with matchups against the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers, four likely playoff squads. Overall, the Rockets went 3-2 in that timespan with crucial wins over the Spurs and T-Wolves as part of their three-game winning streak.

Last night, the Rockets were in action against the 76ers in a game that was pushed to overtime, which means Houston will be extra tired for tonight’s contest. The Rockets suffered a 128-122 loss to Philly on the road, though Kevin Durant did all he could to reverse the result with a 36-point effort. 

Outside of KD, nobody else on the Rockets eclipsed the 20-point threshold, so they did not have enough firepower to keep up with the 76ers after regulation. Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun combined to hit 10 shots between them out of 29 attempts, and that kind of inefficiency weighed down the Rockets in a tightly contested cross-conference game. 

Right now, both the Pistons and Rockets are managing a bevy of injuries. For Detroit, Cade Cunningham was held out of the team’s most recent win due to a combination of illness and a lingering wrist injury, and his status will be important to monitor leading up to tip-off. Caris LeVert and Ron Holland are both fighting through their own illnesses, though LeVert is expected to sit out, while Holland should be in the lineup. On top of that, Duncan Robinson sprained his lower back recently, but the veteran sharp-shooter is listed as probable to play against the Rockets. 

As for Houston, Aaron Holiday and Steven Adams have already been ruled out ahead of their game against the Pistons. Holiday is dealing with a back injury, whereas Adams has an ankle sprain that will require several more weeks to heal. So, both teams are expected to be shorthanded entering tonight’s game to say the least. 

Over the course of the regular season’s first half, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has mentioned the phrase “controlling the chaos” repeatedly. Bickerstaff leans on that maxim to represent what he wants Detroit’s mentality to resemble, and it’s a phrase that he uses to help steady the ship in Motown. 

“Coming into the season, we expected the outside noise of higher expectations,” Bickerstaff said. “We had guys in contract years. We had new guys. You know at some point in time an injury is going to happen, and we wanted to be in a position where we’re prepared when those moments happen that we could handle them. That’s where the motto came from, and that’s where our mindset still is.”

More often than not this season, when the Rockets are in a bind and need a bucket, there’s one player they turn to– KD. Even at 37-years old, Durant is still able to get a bucket on his own, but Houston is not necessarily doing him any favors with the positions they put the multi-time All-Star in. 

With regularity, the Rockets bounce the ball out of the post and towards Durant on the perimeter who is then asked to create a play in iso about 35 feet from the hoop. Now, Durant is still agile enough to beat his man off the dribble, but how many times can the Rockets expect for KD to bail them out at the end of possessions? 

If the Pistons can stick with Durant and close out effectively, then perhaps Houston will have to direct their offense through Alperen Sengun as a pivot option later tonight. 

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