Detroit Pistons Vs. Washington Wizards Injury Report

After the Detroit Pistons lost a tough five-point ball game to the Los Angeles Lakers at home last night, the Motown squad has a speedy turnaround with another contest on the docket tonight against the Washington Wizards. In fact, this will be the first of two consecutive games against the Wiz, though they’ll have two days off in between to rest up and restrategize. 

But as for tonight’s Eastern Conference battle, the 6-3 Pistons are looking to rebound from the Lakers game, which was another in a string of matchups for Detroit without Jalen Duren or Isaiah Joe. Before the game, Detroit announced that their All-Star center would have his right hamstring strain reevaluated in two weeks, so that means the 22-year old will naturally sit out tonight’s contest. 

As for Joe, the veteran sniper hasn’t had the smoothest start to his Pistons tenure. During the preseason, Joe was in a bit of a shooting slump, though he showed signs of breaking out of that by knocking down some shots shortly before his injury, which is a right hip contusion. Joe took a hard spill on the baseline after throwing down an early-season dunk against the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Arkansas product still is not feeling healthy enough to suit up. 

Now, the Pistons aren’t the only team managing a series of health issues at the moment since the Wizards have their own depth chart concerns to monitor. On Washington’s side of the matchup, they will be without Tristan Vukcevic, Reece Beekman and Justin Champagnie, though the first two are nursing moderate injuries while Champagnie will be out until at least February. 

But perhaps more importantly than that, the Wizards might not have Anthony Davis or Bilal Coulibaly operating at 100% if they’re able to go tonight. Davis has an ankle issue that’s lingering around, so he’s currently listed as questionable, which should function as more of a game-time decision for the big man. As for Coulibaly, left hand soreness has landed the fourth-year guard on the injury report ahead of tonight’s matchup, so he’s questionable as well. 

Last night, the Pistons starters had a remarkably cold shooting night from the floor, but Detroit was nearly saved by the two-man bench combination of Daniss Jenkins and Kevin Huerter. In fact, Jenkins filled the role that’s usually occupied by Joe as he knocked down eight triples against the Lakers, so both he and Huerter will have another opportunity to make an impact from the second-string once tonight’s game is underway.