The Detroit Pistons have an Eastern Conference showdown with the Orlando Magic tonight, and they'll be juggling a few injuries heading into the matchup.
With four games left in the regular season, the Detroit Pistons are within eyesight of the NBA Playoffs, and they’ll enter that stage as the No. 1 seed in the East after their 116-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Since the Pistons have home court advantage through the first three rounds locked up, Detroit does not have a major incentive to go all out over the next week since the postseason is looming, especially since Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart are still working to get healthy. However, the Pistons’ style is not that of a team that takes breaks, and they’ll likely want to keep their rhythm entering the playoffs while also remaining responsible with injury management.
With that said, the Pistons have a slew of health issues to juggle for tonight’s road game against the Orlando Magic. As mentioned earlier, both Cunningham and Stewart are still too banged up to play with the All-Star point guard nursing a collapsed lung and the defensive stalwart recovering from a left calf strain. Currently, the hope is that both Cunningham and Stewart will be back in action for the Pistons’ first round matchup, but that all depends on how they progress over the next week.
Apart from those multi-week absences, two more starters are listed on the injury report in Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson. As for the former, Harris scored 19 points against his former squad, the 76ers, two days ago, but the 15-year vet is still feeling the lingering effects of a collision he suffered the game before against the Minnesota Timberwolves. As for the latter, the sharp-shooting wing has a right hip strain that could potentially hold him out of tonight’s contest.
UPDATE: Cade Cunningham was upgraded to doubtful prior to tip-off against the Magic, which is a marked improvement on his condition over the past couple of weeks and signals a potential return before the end of the regular season for the Pistons.
On the other side of the Eastern Conference matchup, the Magic had a game last night, so they’ll be playing on the second leg of a back-to-back tonight. For that game against the New Orleans Pelicans, there were several absences from the Magic lineup due to injury, and that trend could continue tonight.
In the backcourt, the Magic played without Jett Howard or Anthony Black last night in what was a narrow 112-108 win for Orlando. Howard, a Michigan product, has a left ankle sprain that is a bit too severe to risk reinjuring at the moment, so he will be unavailable for the 7 pm tilt. Black, on the other hand, is dealing with an abdomen issue that held him out of last night’s win.
Right now, the Magic are in 9th in the Eastern Conference, which would qualify the squad for the play-in round if the season ended today. So, every game for Orlando is of vital importance at this stage in the season with the Miami Heat just one game behind in 10th at 41-37.
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