Entering tonight’s Eastern Conference showdown against the Philadelphia 76ers on the road, the Detroit Pistons are looking to put the finishing touches on what’s been a remarkable 2025-26 campaign. Currently standing at 56-21 on the year, the Pistons need just one more win to secure the top seed in the East entering the postseason, and tonight’s matchup against Philly could be the day. 

The Pistons have just five games left in the regular season, so the odds are in Detroit’s favor to enter the playoffs as the one seed, but the Motown squad will have to continue fighting off a few injury woes in order to get the job done. 

Most notably, the Pistons are still without their star point guard after Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung last month. Recently, the Pistons reevaluated the All-Star starter and determined that he needed at least one more week to recover, which effectively ended his regular season. As a result, Cunningham is going to fall just short of the NBA’s 65-game threshold for major awards, but the team’s focus is on making sure his health is in order before transitioning to the playoffs. 

With Cunningham out of the picture tonight, the Pistons are also missing the heart and soul of their interior defense as Isaiah Stewart continues to miss another game with a lingering left calf strain. Initially, Stewart was given a one-week prognosis for his injury, but the shot-swatting menace hasn’t been able to shake the ailment, and Beef Stew might be out until the start of the postseason, just like Cunningham. 

The Pistons’ injury concerns don’t end there, however, as 15-year vet Tobias Harris’s availability is a question mark for tonight’s game against his former squad, the Sixers, after he left Detroit’s most recent contest on Thursday night during the first quarter. On a first quarter dribble-drive against the Timberwolves, Harris darted into a collision with a Minnesota defender and ended up worse for wear with a bruised knee to show for his hard work. Harris left Detroit’s game and was ruled out for the rest of the contest, and he’s currently considered day-to-day according to ESPN. 

Finally, Detroit has another backcourt health issue to tend to regarding Marcus Sasser’s on again, off again hip injury. After early season concerns regarding a right hip impingement, Sasser’s injury flared up over the past week, and he’s currently listed as probable to play through his hip strain tonight. 

On the other side of the equation, the 76ers are a beacon of health by comparison to the Pistons, but much like Detroit, Philly’s most recent game was a victory over the Timberwolves. Regarding their injury situation, the 76ers have played much better with Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Joel Embiid back in the lineup. The Sixers have been monitoring Johni Broome’s knee injury over the past several days, but his status heading into tonight’s contest is still up in the air. 

This season, the Pistons are 3-0 against the 76ers, so another victory would give Detroit a clean season sweep over Philadelphia. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm between the two squads out on the East coast. 

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